Eagles Down Harvard in Beanpot Opener

In yesterday’s first-round Beanpot matchup against Boston College (13-21-1), the Harvard baseball team fell by a 5-2 score at Fraser Field in Lynn, Mass.

With the Crimson (12-13) up 1-0 in the bottom of the second inning, the Eagles scored three runs off of sophomore pitcher Ryan Watson to take the lead. Watson gave up two hits and two walks, and senior catcher Andrew Casey had some trouble blocking the ball that resulted in BC’s continued rally. The inning finally ended when junior third baseman Steffan Wilson made a diving stop on a hard ground ball and threw the ball to first for the out.

Watson was only one of nine hurlers used in an unconventional pitching strategy on the part of Crimson coach Joe Walsh.

Harvard put a different pitcher on the mound every inning, even switching midway through the eighth after the Eagles racked up two runs against freshman Dan Zailskas.

“If I’m a hitter and I’m seeing a different guy every time that can be a little bit of an adjustment, especially if they're throwing first pitch strikes,” Walsh said. “Even though it was pre-planned, I was thinking it was going to work.”

The Crimson also struggled to find a rhythm offensively, after scoring the first run of the game in the second frame.

Freshman designated hitter Andrew Prince singled to start the inning, and was driven home following a double from Casey and a sac-fly by Zailskas.

In the third, senior captain Brendan Byrne, who finished three-for-four in the game, scored on an RBI single by Prince.

“I felt pretty comfortable up there,” Byrne said. “I went through a slump and I just talked to my teammates and got some help with my hitting.”

Walsh had praise for Byrne after the game.

“He’s doing what seniors are supposed to do, and that’s lead,” Walsh said. “He’s doing it with the bat, he’s doing it on the field, he’s doing it elsewhere for us.”

Prince came up big at the plate as well, playing in his first game since re-injuring his hamstring last Saturday against Yale.

“I didn’t do too bad,” Prince said. “Two for three—I’ll take it.”

Even with Byrne and Prince leading the offensive effort, it was not enough for Harvard to pull ahead of the Eagles. For the remaining five innings, the Crimson placed only two more runners on base.

“We just couldn’t get our offense together,” Walsh said.

Another reason for the Crimson’s poor offensive performance was BC’s standout pitcher Ted Ratliff, who threw a complete game for the Eagles. Ratliff has faced Harvard four times over the past two seasons, going a perfect 4-0.

“I think Ratliff did a great job bearing down, making his pitches when he had to,” Byrne said. “I thought our hitters gave a great effort out there.”

The Crimson will try to recover from the loss when they meet up with Brown on the Bears’ home turf this Saturday in Providence, R.I.