After Dropping One, Baseball Takes Three Straight Against Army

Coming off of a sweep at the hands of South Florida last weekend, the Harvard baseball team rebounded by taking three of four from Army West Point in Cary, N.C. Though the Crimson (10-8) dropped the first game of the series due to a wild walk-off, it proceeded to score 39 runs over the last three games to take the series from the Black Knights (8-15).

The three straight 11-5, 11-4, and 17-9 victories mark the first times Harvard has scored in the double digits since its season-opening wins on March 3.

“Any time that we can get three wins on a weekend is a positive weekend,” said senior shortstop Drew Reid, who went 8-for-18 in the series. “It’s good to get the kinks out now and be able to fire on all cylinders going into Ivy League play.”

The Crimson will look to continue its hot hitting as it matches up against Holy Cross at home on Wednesday before starting Ivy League play next weekend.

HARVARD 17, ARMY 9

Harvard put up seven runs in the first two innings and scored in nothing but three and four-run bursts thereafter, coming out on top of a 31-hit combined slugfest between the two teams. When the dust settled, the Crimson took the victory, 17-9, on Sunday afternoon. Harvard’s 16 hits and 17 runs are both season highs.

Sophomores Patrick McColl and Patrick Robinson led the way, as Robinson hit 3-for-4 out of the cleanup spot as the designated hitter, and McColl went 4-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBI’s. All told, seven different Crimson batters drove in runs for a season-high 13 team RBI’s.

“We were attacking a lot of fastballs,” McColl said. “We’ve been complacent a lot this year, but we were getting after it today and it definitely showed on the scoreboard—guys were lacing balls everywhere.”

Sophomore Kevin Stone was the beneficiary of the outpouring of run support, getting his third win of the season after going five innings and giving up four earned runs. Army starter Sam Messina was knocked around in just 1.2 innings of work, giving up five runs, walking four Harvard batters, throwing a wild pitch, and being hurt by an errant throw to first.

HARVARD 11, ARMY 4

After splitting the first two games, the Crimson routed the Black Knights, 11-4, on Sunday morning to give Harvard the series lead. Though Army punched in two runs in the top of the first, the Crimson went to work in the top of the third: its hot bats led to Harvard scoring in every inning the rest of the game.

“It’s huge coming off of Florida, where we didn’t quite put it all together,” said Reid. “The bats are really clicking—we definitely have a lot of work to do in other facets of the game, but right now we’re hitting pretty well.”

The Crimson’s 14 hits in just seven innings were a precursor to the afternoon game’s 16 hit-outburst; the team didn’t seem to miss a beat in the break between its games Sunday. Reid collected two hits and drove in two runs, while McColl led the team with three hits. Robinson, captain Josh Ellis, and leadoff man Ben Skinner all had multi-hit games as well.

Sophomore righty Simon Rosenblum-Larson went the full seven innings, gave up two earned runs, and struck out six Black Knights for his second win of the season.

HARVARD 11, ARMY 5

Junior Noah Zavolas threw seven innings of three-run ball, the middle of the order produced on a consistent basis, and Harvard once again put up 14 hits in an 11-5 victory over Army on Saturday night.

Freshman right fielder Jake Suddleson had a breakout day at the plate, hitting 3-for-4 with a walk, three runs scored, and three RBI’s. The rookie also stole a base for good measure. Robinson, hitting one spot before him, likewise garnered three hits and three RBI’s.

The Crimson stole three bases on the game, putting pressure on opposing pitchers and continuing the merry-go-round of Harvard runners. Skinner swiped his team-leading fifth bag of the season, while Suddleson got his first.

“A bunch of guys were running around, we did a good job bunting with the ball,” McColl said. “Overall, we did a good job [on the basepaths] this weekend.”

ARMY 8, HARVARD 7 (NINE INNINGS)

After a scoreless first three innings, the Crimson jumped out to a 4-3 lead after four, but subsequently let the lead and victory slip after Army tied it in the seventh and forced extras. A wild ninth inning in which Harvard scored three in the top half but allowed a four-run bottom half capped off an 8-7 defeat for the Crimson, temporarily extending its losing streak to five games.

Army senior Alex Dickerson lifted a walk-off sac fly into center off Harvard freshman righty Grant Stone to bring home the winning run.

Crimson starter junior Ian Miller once more went the distance, throwing seven innings, giving up four earned runs on two Black Knight homers and an RBI single, and striking out seven. On the offensive side, Reid and Ellis combined to go 5-for-6 at the back end of the order.

—Staff writer Bryan Hu can be reached at bryan.hu@thecrimson.com.