The Definition of Clutch

Down 1-0 with two outs, facing a 3-2 count, sophomore pinch hitter Mickey Kropf—and Harvard’s entire season—was down to his final strike. Junior pinch runner Nick Seminara stood at second, two bases away from tying up the game. Kropf fouled off four pitches before finally connecting on a long drive to deep right-center.

The ball passed just over the head of Brown center fielder Rick Lynn, giving Kropf a most improbable triple to tie the game.

“I was ready,” the left-handed Kropf said. “[Brown starter Jonathan Stern’s] pitches looked like he was a lot tougher on righties. Lefties had a pretty good time with him the other day he started. “

Kropf would score on the very next pitch, as senior second baseman Faiz Shakir hit a bloop single to left to win the one-game playoff, 2-1, and give the Crimson the Red Rolfe Division title.

“I thought he was going to throw a curveball,” Shakir said. “I was looking for it, and I got enough of the barrel on it to drop it in there. It was garbage, but I’ll take it.”

Clutch playoff-winning hits are nothing new for Shakir. As a freshman three years ago, Shakir hit a bases-loaded, two-out single in the bottom of the ninth to beat Princeton in the Ivy Championship Series.

With the win, the Crimson (18-23, 14-7 Ivy) earned a spot in the Ivy League Championship Series against Princeton (22-21, 13-7). Harvard will host the two-time defending Ivy champions in a best-of-three series at O’Donnell Field beginning with a double-header Saturday at noon. Sunday’s game, if necessary, will start at 1 p.m.

The winner advances to the NCAA Regionals beginning May 31.

The game started rather odiously for the Crimson. Stern struck out the side in the bottom of the first, and Brown got on the board in the top of the second. Bears third-baseman Jeff Nichols hit a towering fly ball over the trees in left-center field to give Brown the 1-0 lead.

But that one pitch would be the only mistake Harvard ace and captain Ben Crockett would make. Pitching on only three days of rest, fresh off a complete game against Dartmouth, Crockett pitched a nine-inning gem, striking out 16 Brown batters.

“In this type of game, you throw the pitch count away,” Walsh said.

At one stretch in the middle innings, Crockett retired eight Brown batters in a row, six by strikeout. Stern was just as good, retiring eight in a row in a stretch in the first four innings, with five strike outs. He would finish the game with 14.

“[Stern] was tremendous,” Walsh said. “Coming into the game I didn’t expect to get the door slammed on us.”

Over his last two outings ,Crockett has struck out 29 batters without allowing a walk. His performances against Brown were even more amazing. In two starts against the Bears, Crockett has struck out 33 batters.

For his games last week against Brown and Dartmouth, Crockett was named USA Today’s Baseball Weekly’s Player of the Week.

“I’ve been in a rhythm the last couple of weeks,” Crockett said. “I’ve been getting ahead in the count a lot more. They know I throw a lot of strikes, and that gets batters to chase a lot of pitches that aren’t strikes and make them strikes.”

Brown had its best chance at building up the lead in the eighth inning. Speedster Rick Lynn started the inning off with a drag bunt down the first base line that Crockett couldn’t field cleanly.

“He did a good job to make me rush it a little bit,” Crockett said. “But that’s the stuff you work on in practice. You’re mad at yourself for a couple of minutes, but you have to flush it out of your head for the next batter.”

Deeb laid down another bunt, but Crockett’s throw to second wasn’t in time to get Lynn at second. With runners at first and second, Matt Kutler hit into a fielder’s choice to short with the Crimson getting Lynn out at second. That would bring up clean-up hitter John Capello, who drilled a ball towards third base. Senior Nick Carter quickly picked it up and wisely threw the ball home to get Deeb out.

With the threat partially averted, Crockett struck out Greg Metzger, one of Brown’s top hitters, to end the inning.

Harvard had a chance to even up the score in the bottom half of the eighth. After a Shakir groundout, sophomore Bryan Hale pinch hit for senior center fielder Chaney Sheffield, drawing a four-pitch walk. Senior shortstop Mark Mager then hit a single off the foot of Brown shortstop John Magaletti, advancing Hale to second. Freshman Ian Wallace flied out to center, but Hale was able to tag up and advance to third, leaving runners on the corners with one out.

Sophomore Marc Hordon came up, pinch hitting for sophomore Trey Hendricks who had injured his knee on a slide in the sixth inning. Making his first plate appearance since injuring his shoulder last weekend, Hordon hit a weak grounder to Stern to end the inning.

Crockett then retired the Bears in order, setting the stage for the drama of the bottom of the ninth.

“Right before the ninth inning, I was thinking that we can’t let a solo homerun beat us—that’s pathetic,” Shakir said. “We need to win this one not just for ourselves, but for Crockett.”

Freshman Schuyler Mann started off the ninth with a chopper hit towards second. Deeb ranged over to field the ball, but it bounced through his legs, letting Mann reach safely. Carter failed at his attempt to sacrifice Mann over to second, ultimately striking out swinging.

That brought up senior Josh San Salvador, who last week hit a walk-off home run to beat the Bears 13-12. S an Salvador couldn’t repeat his heroics this time, however, as he struck out swinging. With the Crimson’s season down to its final out, Walsh decided he had to play the numbers, pinch-hitting for senior Javy Lopez with Kropf, and pinch-running Mann with the faster Seminara.

“I just didn’t think that I could leave a left handed batter on the bench in that situation,” Walsh said. “Lefties have a better chance against Stern because of his breaking ball.”

After Kropf quickly fell behind 0-2 in the count, the Crimson was down to its final strike. Stern threw a pitch that Kropf took that the umpire thought was just barely outside. Many in the Brown dugout and fans from both sides in the crowd thought the game was over.

“I didn’t think [the 0-2 pitch] was anywhere near [the strike zone],” Kropf said.

With little to lose, Walsh decided to gamble, sending Seminara on the 1-2 pitch. Seminara would barely beat out the tag at second, but the Crimson suddenly had a man in scoring position.

“Once we got to two strikes I flipped the coin there,” Walsh said. “I figured it might put a little pressure on him [Stern].”

Now with a runner in scoring position, Kropf had new life. Stern threw another pitch outside, setting up the dramatic ending.

“Once we got Seminara on second base, that might have changed Stern’s approach a little bit,” Walsh said. “He might have aimed the fastball a little bit. He might of thought of throwing the breaking ball, babying it. He was basically careful.”

“I was thinking about the season and the seniors,” Kropf said. “I was trying to keep it alive for them.”

With its season still alive, Harvard must prepare for a three-game series against a well-rested Princeton squad.

The two teams will play a full-length doubleheader on Saturday, and one game on Sunday if necessary. Harvard swept the season series, winning both games at Princeton.

The Tigers are led by their starting rotation, one of the best in the Ivy League. Ross Ohlendorf (6-2, 3.02 ERA) and David Boehle (1-2, 3.73) should both get starts. Princeton also has the best closer in the league in Thomas Pauly (2-2, 1.43, 9 saves.)

The Tigers should have an advantage, having not played since Sunday. With Crockett having pitched on three days rest Wednesday, there is little chance that he will be available to pitch this weekend. That means that senior Justin Nyweide will start game one for the Crimson, and, with no other inning-eating starters, the Crimson will have to rely on its bullpen more than usual for the rest of the series.

The Tigers lack the formidable offense of the Bears, hitting just .279 as a team. Princeton’s offense is led by Adam Balkan (.315, 2 HR, 32 RBI) and Pat Boran (.311, 2, 32.) The Tigers are actually one of the few teams in the Ivy League with less power than the Crimson, hitting a league-worst 10 homers.

Princeton scores by manufacturing runs. The Tigers have four players with double-digit stolen bases, and as a team they have only been thrown out six times in 55 attempts. Given both teams’ struggling offenses, the games should be low-scoring pitcher’s duels.

Resuscitated from the graveyard, the Crimson now face the daunting task of beating the two-time defending Ivy champions without their ace. Yet Wednesday’s classic shows that Harvard has the ability to find improbable ways to win.