Pitchers Shine in Second Season

At the beginning of the season, Harvard coach Joe Walsh envisioned a deep starting rotation with a pair of studs at the top. It turns out he just didn’t know who they would be.

With junior Max Perlman continuing to recover from Tommy John surgery and last year’s most effective starter, sophomore Brent Suter, limited by his play in the outfield, the Crimson has turned to second-year hurlers Conner Hulse and Marcus Way to anchor the staff. After Saturday’s doubleheader against Sacred Heart, it became clear that the pair is up to the task.

“Last year, [the sophomores] were thrown into starting roles as freshmen, but they’ve been able to mature a lot,” junior captain Tyler Albright said. “They got a lot of innings in the bubble and at practice this fall, so they’re emerging as our top pitchers now.”

Hulse began the day with a stellar outing, amassing a strikeout per inning as he overwhelmed the Pioneer batters.

“Conner pitched a hell of a game,” Albright said. “We needed somebody to step up—as coach said, somebody to be a bulldog—and he showed it in that game, just attacking hitters.”

Hulse worked five scoreless innings, for the most part outdueling Sacred Heart’s senior ace, Corey Corcoran. The sophomore relied heavily on his fastball, which often blew right by the Pioneer bats.

“I thought Conner had an exceptional fastball today,” Walsh said. “He’s throwing as hard as I’ve ever seen him.”

Hulse and Corcoran appeared destined to push the contest to extra innings before defensive lapses undermined the Harvard pitcher’s shutout bid. With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Hulse forced leadoff hitter Mike Drowne to pop up to left field. Unfortunately for the Crimson, the ball drifted directly into the sun, preventing junior Sam Franklin from making a play. Sophomore Jeff Reynolds then misplayed a seemingly-harmless ground ball, allowing Drowne to come around and score.

Despite Harvard’s eventual 1-0 defeat, Hulse posted a dominant stat line—six innings pitched, no earned runs, four hits, and six strikeouts—that left Walsh encouraged about the status of the rotation.

“We made a lot of little mistakes,” the coach said. “Yet, if you try to look at the positive things, we had great starting pitching.”

That solid work on the mound continued with Way, who proved equally effective, if not dominant, in the nightcap. The sophomore cleanup hitter did double duty all day as the designated hitter but still managed a strong outing through 5.2 innings.

With a mix of offspeed pitches, Way kept the Pioneer hitters guessing, yielding back-to-back hits only once.

“I didn’t think Marcus had as good a fastball today, but he pitched well enough to keep them offstride with the breaking ball,” Walsh said.

Way allowed just five hits and one walk—the only free pass issued by a Crimson pitcher on the day—and departed the game in the sixth with a 3-2 lead.

But Harvard’s strong effort on the mound didn’t end with the starters, as sophomore Will Keuper came on in relief to earn the save. After striking out Jared Balbach looking to end the sixth, Keuper showed the poise that has characterized his second year, working out of a jam in the final frame.

Sophomore Mike Olszyk drilled a first-pitch double to left center, giving the Pioneers a chance to tie the ballgame, but Keuper quickly notched two strikeouts and a lineout to close the game and earn the Crimson a split on the day.

“Keuper came in and did a nice job after a leadoff double,” Walsh said. “He showed a lot of composure.”

As the offense continues to look for a rhythm early in the season, Harvard will rely on its pitchers to keep the squad competitive. With the sophomore class emerging to anchor the rotation and the bullpen, the Crimson has finally seen its tremendous depth on the mound blossom into a dominant group.

PERLMAN’S STATUS

While the squad is content with its strong starters thus far, Harvard still awaits the return of staff ace Perlman. Twelve months after Tommy John surgery, the hurler was on pace to make an impact this year before experiencing biceps tenderness in practice.

“[Perlman] had it checked out and it was nothing, but he’s been very tentative with it since,” Walsh said. “He has not thrown hard since. It’s hard to push somebody when they’re coming back from Tommy John, but he was doing so well. I don’t know what to expect.”

—Staff writer Max N. Brondfield can be reached at mbrondf@fas.harvard.edu.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

CORRECTION: March 30, 2010

An earlier version of the Mar. 29 sports article "Pitchers Shine in Second Season" incorrectly stated that junior Max Perlman had his surgery 14 months ago. In fact, the surgery occurred 12 months ago, according to Perlman's father.