Fenway Spirit Adds Special Element to Beanpot

They may get to do it every year, but that doesn’t make playing at Fenway any less meaningful for the players on the Harvard baseball team.

“It means a lot, especially as a senior,” senior Matt Rogers said. “Anytime you get to come out here and get to play at Fenway it’s something really special.”

Crimson coach Joe Walsh named six seniors in his starting lineup, including backup catcher Jared Wortzman—an avid Red Sox fan.

But the veterans were not the only ones to get the chance to experience the famous park, as 20 players received playing time in the loss. Walsh changed the designated hitter each time through the lineup.



And the sense of history rushed through the veins of the Harvard players as soon as they stepped into the batting box.

“It’s a surreal experience. Every time you step out on the field you look around and see the names on the wall,” Rogers said.

The names mean different things to different people, of course.

“I’ll never forget when Tray Hendricks [’04], one of our former captains, came over at third base, he goes, ‘I can’t believe I was standing in the same box as Babe Ruth,’” Walsh said. “And I say, ‘Hey, around here Trey, it’s the same box as Ted Williams.’”

NO MONSTER FOR ROGERS

With sophomore shortstop Sean O’Hara out with a knee injury, Walsh chose to give the nod to senior Jon Roberts—in left field that is. So while Roberts got the opportunity to field balls off the Green Monster, everyday left fielder Rogers was moved to shortstop.

“I haven’t been in the infield in a long time but it’s really fun to get a change from the outfield,” Rogers said.

Rogers’ first test came in the bottom of the first, and the senior passed with flying colors. With Boston College junior outfielder Barry Butera stealing second, Wortzman overthrew senior second baseman Taylor Meehan. But
Rogers was there to back up the play and snag the ball out of the air before it reached the outfield, saving a run in the process.

Later that inning, Rogers made a nice scoop and hard throw to beat Eagles’ freshman Brad Zapenas to first and get the Crimson out of a jam.

“For not having any ground balls before the game, and then all of a sudden finding out he was at shortstop at Fenway and making a couple plays in the hole, he did a nice job for us today,” Walsh said.

Even when Rogers slipped up on a ground ball in the fifth, he was there to pick up his own pieces. Diving to his left, he accidentally knocked the ball into the outfield. Boston College sophomore Garrett Smith, who started the play on first base, saw the mistake and rounded second. But the speedy Rogers—who also stole a base in the game—collected the ball and threw to third in time to beat Smith to the bag.

OFF TO THE RACES

The players may have pretended to be David Ortiz or Kevin Youkilis in the batter’s box, but on the basepaths they looked more like Jacoby Ellsbury.
Stolen bases were key to the Harvard victory in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader against Yale, and yesterday they kept the Crimson in the game.

Harvard stole five bases in the contest—including four in its three-run fourth inning.

“We are always trying to be aggressive, especially on the basepaths,” Rogers said. “Anytime you can do that it puts pressure on the other guys.”

This was clear in that successful fourth inning. First, sophomore Dillon O’Neill and Meehan successfully orchestrated a double-steal—although the extra bags would not have a direct impact, as Rogers plated both with a deep triple.

But two batters later, with Rogers at third and captain Harry Douglas at first, Walsh decided to send Douglas. A strong throw from Eagles’ catcher Harry Darling—which was destined to get the out at second—was cut off before reaching the bag and was redirected home, towards a darting Rogers. Rogers slid safely into the plate, but might have been tagged out had Darling been able to hold onto the ball. The run gave Harvard a 3-2 lead at the time.

—Staff writer Jay M. Cohen can be reached at jaycohen@fas.harvard.edu.