Baseball Takes Three of Four From Brown to Keep Playoff Hopes Alive

The Harvard baseball team took care of its business over the weekend to stay alive in Red Rolfe play. The Crimson took three of four from Brown to stay two games back of Yale as both teams head into a pair of decisive four-game series next weekend.

Harvard took both of Saturday’s one-run games before the teams split 6-0 affairs to close out the weekend. The Crimson (15-21, 8-8 Ivy) was able to eliminate the Bears (12-22, 6-10) from postseason contention while Harvard, Yale, and Dartmouth all remain mathematically alive for the division crown.

“We put ourselves in a hole early on, but once that happened, it doesn’t do a whole lot of good to dwell on that, you have to learn from it, move on and I think we’ve done a good job of that,” sophomore utilityman Matt Rothenberg said. “We’ve got a shot with a weekend to play.”

HARVARD 6, BROWN 0

The Crimson jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, as the team was able to find the offense it was missing in Sunday’s first game. Harvard put up a run in the second, three in the third, and two in the fourth, and strong pitching throughout allowed the Crimson to coast to a decisive victory to end the weekend.

Freshman Kevin Stone turned in the best performance of his collegiate career, tossing eight innings of scoreless ball while striking out eight. Stone surrendered just four hits to pick up his third win of the season. Senior Shaun Rubin got through a four-batter ninth inning to secure the victory.

“That was great to watch,” co-captain Matt Sanders said. “He pitched incredibly well. As a freshman, it’s a tall order to come into Harvard and be asked to be one of the four starting pitchers. He’s done a great job of trying to improve every single weekend and you really saw it [Sunday].”

The meat of the Harvard order anchored the breakthrough third inning. Freshman Patrick Robinson and Rothenberg both doubled as two of four base hits in the frame. Four of Harvard’s 10 hits in the game were doubles.

BROWN 6, HARVARD 0 (SEVEN INNINGS)

Brown jumped on Crimson starter Ian Miller to produce the offense it lacked throughout Saturday. Senior left fielder Jake Levine and senior first baseman Kevin Guthrie drove in the only runs the Bears would need in the third. Lefty Austin French stymied the Harvard offense, as the senior went all seven innings, striking out 11 and surrendering just five hits.

Senior Mitch Klug and sophomore Conor Quinn were the only Crimson hitters to record extra base hits but neither were able to score. Miller struggled with command issues, as the second-year issued five walks in his three and two-thirds innings of work.

HARVARD 4, BROWN 3

A three-run first inning propelled Harvard, as the hosts never conceded the lead after falling behind by a run to begin the game. Freshman Ben Skinner set the tone from the get-go, doubling and coming around to score to open the game. After Patrick McColl and John Fallon both reached on walks, the Crimson manufactured two runs via a wild pitch and a fielder’s choice.

From there, senior Sean Poppen was dominant on the mound. The Chesapeake, Va., native threw seven innings, conceding just two runs while striking out 10. Poppen shut down Brown in the road half of the seventh to bridge the gap to the bullpen. Senior Nick Scahill slammed the door on the Bears in the eighth and ninth to pick up his third save of the season.

HARVARD 2, BROWN 1 (SEVEN INNINGS)

Harvard eked out a one-run win to win the weekend’s first season as the hosts rode the arm of junior starter Nick Gruener. While both teams managed just five hits, the Crimson had the decisive one in the fifth. Freshman Trent Bryan doubled to begin the frame and a sac fly from senior Mitch Klug two batters later gave Harvard its decisive run.

Working with the lead in the sixth and seventh, Gruener was just as dominant as he was out of the gate. The Miami native allowed just one hit in the final two frames while striking out three. On the day, Gruener struck out seven of the 27 batters he faced.

“[Gruener and Poppen] have both been great, especially with the seven inning games,” Rothenberg said. “[Nick] having been able to throw the innings he has and pitch like he has really helps out our bullpen. Both of those guys have really set the tone for us.”

-Staff writer Stephen J. Gleason can be reached at sgleason@college.harvard.edu.