A Call to Arms

On a blustery afternoon at O’Donnell Field, Harvard took the wind out of Columbia’s sails by jumping out to insurmountable early leads and cruising to victory in both halves of an Ivy League doubleheader.

One day after a bitter split with Penn, the Crimson (12-10-1, 7-1 Ivy), relying on stingy starting pitching and early-inning offensive explosions, easily tamed the Lions (7-23, 4-8) en route to wins by 13-5 and 8-1 finals.

Seniors Javier Castellanos and Matt Brunnig both turned in strong outings from the hill and the Harvard hitters, with a pair of Steffan Wilson home runs thrown in, ran wild on the basepaths, leaving little doubt of a Sunday sweep.

HARVARD 8, COLUMBIA 1

The Crimson hung a five-spot on Columbia in the bottom of the first and Brunnig took it most of the way from there, prevailing tidily in the nightcap.

After loading the bases with one out on a pair of walks and a hit batter, senior Chris Mackey and freshman Matt Rogers lined consecutive RBI singles to make it 3-0. Sophomore Taylor Meehan, replacing the injured captain Morgan Brown at shortstop, pushed across another run with a bunt single. Then, with Rogers, he executed a textbook double steal of second base and home—Roger scored—which advanced the lead to 5-0.

“We got our running game going, especially that second game,” Harvard coach Joe Walsh said. “That’s the kind of baseball we want to play, with some double steals, man on third, bringing him with less than two outs...those are the things we work at.”

The cushion was more than ample for Brunning, who moved to 2-0 on the year with the win. He threw exactly 100 pitches in seven innings and allowed only one run on four hits and two walks while striking out five. The tall right-hander worked inside effectively and profited from mixing in his changeup.

“Having the guys jump out like that was huge,” Brunnig said. “I’ve been working on a few different things, a few new things, and having the confidence was really important.”

It was a banner day throughout for the pitching staff. Sophomore Brad Unger finished the game for the Crimson, recording all six of his outs via strikeout.

“When your starters are giving you such quality starts as we got from [Castellanos] and Brunnig,” Walsh said, “Unger came in and had six punchouts in two innings and you’re wishing you had a fifth game to throw him.”

“After a weak start for our pitching staff, it’s kind of good to see guys coming through,” Brunnig added. “Getting their pitches down, hitting their spots, taking care of business.”

Harvard added a pair of runs in the second on a towering blast from Wilson, reaching seven runs in the initial two frames for the second game in a row.

Centerfielder Matt Vance reached base in his first four plate appearances, and first baseman Josh Klimkiewicz went 2-for-3 with a RBI.

HARVARD 13, COLUMBIA 5

The Crimson sent 24 batters to the plate in its first three turns, racking up a 12-0 lead on a mere nine hits, though aided by three hit batters, two walks, and an error.

Wilson drove in two runs with a double in the second and delivered the crowning blow with a three-run long-ball that capped the five-run third. Leadoff man Brendan Byrne scored in all three innings and so did right fielder Lance Salsgiver in his three times up.

Backup catcher Matt Kramer unintentionally encapsulated Harvard’s aggressiveness and the Lions’ haplessness when his hard slide in the second inning broke up a potential double play and ignited the ire of the Columbia bench.

“It’s just part of the game,” Kramer said. “It’s hard baseball so it’s kind of expected.”

Walsh called off the proverbial dogs in the later innings, replacing the majority of the regular with less experiences reserves.

Castellanos, for his part, delivered his second straight excellent performance in a Sunday opener. After surrendering a leadoff single in the first, Castellanos did not permit another hit until there were two outs in the fifth, retiring 14 of the 15 batters he faced, including 12 straight, during the span. In all, he allowed four runs (two earned) on six hits in six innings of work.

“[Castellanos] looked great today,” Kramer said. “He’s really been on the last couple of starts. He’s keeping the ball down. He has his good splitter working. He’s doing really well.”

The Crimson meets crosstown rival Boston College in Chestnut Hill on Tuesday before resuming its Ancient Eight docket with four contests at Yale next weekend.

—Staff writer Jonathan Lehman can be reached at jlehman@fas.harvard.edu.