Critical Ivy Season Finale Looms

Once again, the Harvard baseball team heads into its last weekend of the season in the hunt for the Ivy League title.

With a pair of home-and-home doubleheaders against Dartmouth (13-16, 7-9 Ivy) beginning in Hanover, N.H. on Saturday, the Crimson (21-12, 12-4) must win at least three of four games to secure a spot in the Ivy League Championship Series.

Failing to take at least three games, however, would allow the situation to grow considerably more complicated.

Heading into its four-game series with Brown earlier this week, the Crimson had a chance to move three games ahead of the Bears (19-17, 11-5) in the Red Rolfe standings to secure the title. Since it split with Brown, however, Harvard remained only one game ahead. The Bears will now play four games against Yale (21-14, 9-7) this upcoming weekend.

Although disappointment might have plagued the team after splitting with Brown—both losses featured blown leads in late innings—it appears the Crimson is ready to put the series behind it and focus solely on the Big Green.

“We were a little upset after the second game against Brown,” said right fielder Lance Salsgiver, “but we’re still optimistic going into the Dartmouth series. We’re hoping to take at least three out of four.”

Though Dartmouth is mathematically eliminated from the title hunt with a 7-9 Ivy record, it still gets to play spoiler against the Crimson.

Harvard needs to win at least three games to be safe, but if it fails to do so, Brown could sneak in as champion.

In case of a split, the Bears would need to beat Yale in three out of four games to force a head-to-head tiebreaker, or sweep to grab the Red Rolfe title.

The Bulldogs, who are mathematically still in the hunt at three games back, would need the Bears and the Crimson both to collapse completely this weekend to have any chance at the Ivy League championship.

Harvard, though, has grown used to the season coming down to the last weekend against Dartmouth. Last year, in fact, the Big Green snatched the title away from the Crimson in the final season series.

But while Harvard’s fate is currently unknown, one thing is for certain: historically, the Crimson has had its hands full with the Big Green.

“It seems like it’s always the same situation with Dartmouth,” Crimson coach Joe Walsh said. “It’s an unbelievable emotional roller coaster. We have a lot of fun playing them. We’ve had big crowds the last few years.”

Pitching will be a key factor in the series this weekend, as Dartmouth boasts two dominant hurlers in junior Josh Faiola—who shared Cape Cod League MVP honors with Oklahoma’s Ryan Rohlinger last summer—and sophomore Stephen Perry.

“Dartmouth has two of the best pitchers in the Ivy League,” Walsh said. “Faiola is a big-time prospect. Last week, he was Ivy League Pitcher of the Week after having ten strikeouts and no walks against Yale. Perry’s also very good; he beat us last year.”

The Crimson, however, will counter with a pitching staff that ranks second in ERA and a starting rotation that boasts three starters who rank in the top eight statistically.

In all likelihood, the Big Green will first face junior ace Frank Hermann, who scattered five runs and seven hits over seven innings in his last start—a 6-5 loss to Brown on Monday.

Hermann ranks second in the Ivy League to Yale hurler Josh Sowers with a 2.35 ERA.

“Frank’s been pitching well for us recently,” Salsgiver said. “He gota loss the last time he pitched, but he looked great.”

Senior righthander Mike Morgalis typically pitches second. The veteran hasn’t lost yet this year and boasts a 2.61 ERA and five wins, both good for third-best in league.

He held the Bears hitless through the first four innings in his last start, ultimately giving up just two earned runs over 7 2/3 innings.

In the third slot, Harvard will likely feature freshman Shawn Haviland, who holds a 5-1 record for the season and pitched a gem in a 10-3 win over Brown on Tuesday.

The frosh allowed only three runs—two earned—over seven innings while fanning five.

The identity of the fourth starter, as it was this past weekend against the Bears, remains the biggest mystery. Walsh may choose to trot out junior Javy Castellanos on Sunday again.

In another key match-up, the Crimson, which leads the Ivy League in stolen bases and stolen base attempts, looks to continue its aggressive baserunning. Dartmouth’s Will Bashelor, a sophomore outfielder, already has 26 stolen bases on the season in just 29 attempts (89.7 percent), and should be a nuisance on the basepaths against Harvard.

“Bashelor is one of the fastest players in college baseball, not just the Ivy League,” Walsh said. “He’s a huge threat on the basepaths. I think it’ll be a key to see if the team or individual speed will win out.”

Harvard boasts a league-second-best .957 fielding percentage, and has shaken off the defensive rust that plagued it early in the season. Dartmouth lags not far behind with a .953 fielding percentage, though, and since every run will take on greater importance this weekend, the defense is more important than ever.

“We’ve been working a lot on defense recently,” said Walsh. “We want to be prepared for every situation—bunt, hit and run, whatever it may be. I’m proud of our defense.”

But the Crimson will also be playing for something, or someone, bigger than the Ivy League crown.

Right after Thanksgiving, sophomore Wes Cosgriff was diagnosed with testicular cancer, which proceeded to spread throughout his body.

On April 6, he underwent an operation and has since been declared cancer-free.

Cosgriff will be visiting Harvard this weekend for the first time since the operation, and the Crimson, Walsh says, will be playing for him.

Harvard plans to have Cosgriff throw out the first pitch to honor him and his successful recovery.

“Wes doesn’t know it, but he’s been with us every day,” Walsh said. “We’ve had his shirt with us at every game.”

“This is a bigger story than just the Ivy League Championship. When he steps on the field to throw out the first pitch, we’ll feel like we couldn’t have had a better season, regardless of how the games go.”

While its fate is yet to be decided, one thing is for sure: this weekend will be anything but boring.

“We can’t play any harder or any better than we did this past week against Brown,” Walsh said. “We’re a good ball club, and we’re looking to show it.”