Baseball Sweeps Ivy Honors

The Harvard baseball team (28-18, 16-4 Ivy) swept all three Ivy League MVP awards Wednesday, capping a season in which it claimed its third straight title.

Senior center fielder Andrew Huling, a second-team selection last season, was named Player of the Year after batting .463 in Ivy games, plus 31 hits and eight doubles, all second-best in the league.

After moving over from right field to fill the gap left by Brian Ralph '98, Huling proved one of the nation's top defensive center fielders, routinely making acrobatic grabs and over-the-shoulder stabs, recording three assists.

Sophomore starter John Birtwell, the staff ace with the arsenal of crafty pitches, was named Pitcher of the Year after posting a 4-1 league record with a 1.91 ERA. Birtwell also had a league-high 42 strikeouts in 33 innings pitched.

Huling and Birtwell were the Crimson's only representatives on the First Team, with Huling selected unanimously.

Freshman righthander Ben Crockett shared the Rookie of the Year award with Princeton fireballer Chris Young, after going 4-0 with a 3.69 ERA in five league appearances. Young also won the Ivy Rookie of the Year award in basketball, the first two-sport honoree in league history.

Harvard landed four players on the Second Team: senior righthander Donny Jamieson, senior catcher Jason Keck, senior second baseman Peter Woodfork and junior left fielder Jeff Bridich.

Crockett, freshman shortstop Mark Mager and captain Hal Carey were Honorable Mention selections.