Baseball Drops Four to Scorching South Florida Team

After sweeping its two midweek games against Bucknell and Massachusetts, the Harvard baseball team saw the southern hospitality wear off during its four-game weekend series against South Florida in Tampa. The Crimson dropped all four contests and was outscored 34-11 in the process. For the 10-game, 10-day roadtrip in three different Florida cities, Harvard finished 3-7.

USF third baseman David Villar gave Crimson pitching fits all weekend, going 7-for-11 over the three days with three home runs and 12 runs batted in. The four wins over Harvard (7-7) pushed South Florida’s winning streak to 18 and improved its overall record to 19-1.

“Capping off the spring break trip, we kind of knew South Florida was going to be the toughest test we’ve faced this year,” said senior first baseman/pitcher Matt Hink. “...These guys proved on Friday that if [you] put the ball in the wrong spot, they’d take advantage of it.”

SOUTH FLORIDA, 14, HARVARD, 2

A six-run third inning from the Bulls dashed Harvard’s hopes of ending its weekend in Tampa with a win. Sophomore Crimson starter Kevin Stone did not make it out of the third as USF exploded for the six runs on five hits. T

“Though we’re a bit shorthanded, I think that everyone is getting some really great experience from these trips,” Miller said. “Our bullpen is getting better and better as they get more experience and our rotation is also improving every weekend. It’s hard to say when each person is going to pitch, but I’m sure that everyone’s going to pitch very well for us down the stretch.”

hird baseman David Villar hit a grand slam to triple the lead for the hosts. Harvard got on the board in the fourth but was only able to salvage a single run from the threat. Freshman right-hander Hunter Bigge was knocked around in his two and a third innings of work, surrendering four runs and allowing the Bulls’ lead to grow to double digits.

Sophomore centerfielder Ben Skinner was one of the few bright spots for a Crimson offense that managed only five hits. The Moraga, Calif. native reached base three times, doubling twice and driving in a run.

SOUTH FLORIDA, 8, HARVARD, 6

The closest game of the weekend came in the second half of Saturday’s twinbill. Harvard took its first lead of the series in the game’s first inning as a single by the red-hot junior Matt Rothenberg scored classmate John Fallon. The knock was Rothenberg’s 13th hit of the season and his .433 average leads Crimson regulars.

The early advantage did not last long as the potent USF offense jumped all over Harvard starter Noah Zavolas. The junior lasted six innings but surrendered six runs.

“It was definitely a good challenge for us to go down South and play a team that’s been really hot, but at the same time, I think we did a pretty good job against them,” junior right-hander Ian Miller said. “We played them tightly, especially in the games on Saturday.”

The Crimson found itself trailing 3-1 after the first inning and down 4-3 a frame later. After Zavolas’ departure, the Bulls got two more runs off of freshman Grant Stone in the seventh.

Trailing 8-3, Harvard picked up two runs in the eighth and another in the ninth but it proved to be not enough. Junior outfielder Austin Black drove in two runs on his first career long ball, which came in the eighth. Senior shortstop Drew Reid collected two hits while freshman second baseman Quinn Hoffman collected his third and fourth RBIs of his college career.

SOUTH FLORIDA, 4, HARVARD, 1

Miller and USF redshirt freshman Shane McClanahan went toe-to-toe in the weekend’s only real pitching duel. Both arms went the distance in the seven inning showdown and conceded just six hits apiece.

“I think that was definitely the highlight pitching performance of the weekend, both statistically and just how [Ian] looked,” Hink said. “He looked in rhythm and he threw well for us. We would like the offense to put more run support on him but then, at the same time, they had a lefty who was throwing 91-94 consistently.”

A three-run home run by Villar in the sixth proved to be the difference in a game that sat at 1-0 in favor of the Bulls from the second inning on. Miller had four strikeouts while McClanahan registered 11, including three of freshman left fielder Jake Suddleson.

“It’s great for our pitchers to get that experience, especially for Ian to get to face a lineup like they have, which some would argue might be one of the best in the country right now,” Hink said. “For him to be able to do what he did is a big confidence booster for him and it shows good things for the Ivy League down the road.”

Fallon was the extent of the Crimson offense. The Houston native had three of Harvard’s six hits, including both of its extra-base knocks, and its only run scored.

SOUTH FLORIDA, 8. HARVARD, 2

USF jumped on Harvard sophomore starter Simon Rosenblum-Larson for five runs, with three coming in the the second and two more an inning later. Villar and designated hitter Luke Borders both hit two-run home runs to put the hosts up for good.

“That Friday night game we kind of shot ourself in the foot just as far as some mistakes in the field, we didn’t pitch as well as some other games we’ve played,” Hink said. “They were a team where they would hit pitching mistakes unlike maybe some of the other teams we had played this year where maybe you could get away with missing a pitch here or there.”

The Crimson got on the board in the fourth as sophomore first baseman Patrick McColl singled home classmate Patrick Robinson. Rosenblum-Larson settled down for the second half of his six innings pitched. He allowed just two hits and no runs in his final three innings of work, but his offense did not answer the bell. McColl drove in his second run of the game and his ninth of the season as his single in the eighth plated Skinner.

Right-hander Garrett Rupp was knocked around by the Bulls in the junior’s one and a third innings of work. Rupp retired four of the nine batters that he faced and conceded three runs, three hits, and two walks. The exclamation point came on a Chris Chatfield two-run bomb, the last of three on the afternoon.

—Staff writer Stephen J. Gleason can be reached at stephen.gleason@thecrimson.com.