PREVIEW: Harvard Looking to Recover Against Bulldogs

It’s not just the age-old rivalry or the good competition that makes the Harvard men’s baseball team so eager for its trip to New Haven this weekend. It’s the chance to redeem itself after a humbling loss and get back to its winning ways.

The Crimson will look to get back on track after an embarrassing 10-0 defeat at Boston College on Tuesday when it travels to Yale for two weekend doubleheaders against the Elis.

Harvard was sluggish at the plate and sloppy in the field at Chestnut Hill, managing only one hit and two walks off Eagles pitching while committing seven errors. The Crimson put itself in a quick hole by committing errors on three consecutive plays to start the game.

“That’s the most devastating loss I’ve ever been involved in, as a coach or a player,” coach Joe Walsh said. “I’m just hoping it doesn’t do damage to the ballclub and to our mindsets.”

But this weekend brings Harvard the opportunity to forget Tuesday and regain its recent dominance in league play.

“We’re going to get past the B.C. game,” captain Morgan Brown said. “The Yale series this weekend is going to take all of our attention. What we need to do is take care of our Ivy League games.”

The B.C. dismantling of Crimson starting pitching was certainly an anomaly in Harvard’s recent run of league success. Nearly all of its twelve wins overall have featured stellar pitching.

Saturday, Harvard will have its two aces on the mound in sophomore Shawn Haviland and freshman Adam Cole.

Haviland’s two complete games lead the staff, while Cole has been named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week in each of the past two weeks.

“It’s great for the rest of the team when you have individuals like them to go out there and set the tone,” Brown said. “It gets a good flow going for the rest of the weekend.”

Harvard’s aces will have to contend with a potent Yale lineup.

Eli first baseman Marc Sawyer, Brown’s Cape Cod Summer League teammate, saw his 18-game hit streak end on Wednesday at Sacred Heart but enters the weekend hitting an impressive .378 and slugging at a .521 clip.

Crimson hitters will also have to face one of the top pitchers in the league in Alec Smith, who turned in a complete-game three-hitter against Cornell last Sunday.

“Yale’s got a lot of talented individual players,” Brown said. “We’re really going to need to have quality at-bats.”

With Harvard trying to shake off its blowout loss at B.C., Yale meanwhile is riding the momentum of a doubleheader sweep of Sacred Heart on Wednesday.

Harvard currently sits at the top of the league standings with a 7-1 record against Ivy foes. Yale is nipping at its heels with a 6-2 mark.

“I’m going into the weekend concerned about getting my ballclub on track,” said Walsh. “We need to be playing good baseball, and even with a 7-1 league record we have yet to show that.

“What I’m looking for is starting with Yale, to start being consistent. We don’t just want to win, we’ve got to win.”