Winning Is The Only Option

When a team splits every single weekend, is it a model of inconstancy or just the opposite? Whatever it is, the Harvard baseball team (14-22, 7-7 Ivy), which has split every weekend that it has played league opponents, must change its course in order to keep the Crimson’s hopes for the Ivy League playoffs alive.

Saturday seemed like a perfect opportunity for Harvard to break the trend. After two disappointing losses to Brown (12-25, 9-5) the Sunday before last, the Crimson put up convincing victories over the Bears the next day—including a 9-0 blowout in which junior Max Perlman and freshman Andrew Ferreira combined for a five-hitter with no walks. Even with a Beanpot loss, Harvard seemed to have more than enough momentum to break its streaking habit with dominant wins over Yale (17-19-1, 4-10), the last-place team in the Rolfe Division. One game into the doubleheader, the Crimson was right on track. But the goal of a sweep was soon derailed when the Bulldogs scored seven runs in the first inning of game two and rolled on to a 15-1 win, facing few challenges in the process.

“It was a missed opportunity,” Harvard coach Joe Walsh said at the time. “We know that we have to sweep the doubleheader.”

But despite Walsh’s and the team’s understanding of the urgency of the situation at hand, Walsh insists that Harvard hasn’t tightened up or recoiled in the face of inconsistency.

“I don’t think anyone is feeling any pressure,” Walsh said. “We’re all playing nice and loose.”

In some sports, that might represent a lackadaisical attitude, but for the Crimson baseball team, it actually makes sense. Despite its mediocre record, Harvard has demonstrated time and time again that is has all the talent it needs to get the necessary victories to make the Ivy League tournament. The team has had strong offensive outbursts from its leadoff batters down to nine-holer Kyle Larrow, and has had intimidating performances from a plethora of pitchers, including Perlman, Ferreira, junior Eric Eadington, and sophomores Brent Suter, Marcus Way, and Will Keuper.

“Every time we get a good outing, we seem to put it together,” Walsh said.

But though the rotation has proven talented, it has been far from consistent as well. Despite numerous strong performances on the mound, the Crimson has also had plenty of regrettable ones, most notably a 24-1 loss to Columbia (19-17, 10-4) on Apr. 11.

But luckily for Harvard’s hurlers, they have the luxury of working with experienced players in the middle of the field in junior captain Tyler Albright and juniors Sean O’Hara and Dillon O’Neill. In its preseason release, College Baseball Insider named Alright and O’Hara the best defensive players in the Ivy League at their respective positions. Meanwhile, Albright and O’Neill were both All-Ivy Honorable Mention a year ago.

“Our strength is in the middle,” Walsh said. “We have an excellent catcher, a terrific shortstop, and a great center fielder.”

Luckily for Walsh, two of those players—Albright and O’Hara—have also proven to be powerful at the plate this season. O’Neill hasn’t had the same offensive success this year as last, when he batted .322, but Walsh said the junior has been dominant in the outfield—especially this past weekend.

“[O’Neill] had a tremendous weekend last weekend,” Walsh said. “[He made] a pro-catch. He has the potential.”

But while O’Neill looks for his sophomore swing, he has plenty of younger teammates who are just as comfortable with the bat as he was a year ago. Sophomore Jeff Reynolds leads the team in batting average (.352), hits (44) and slugging percentage (.504), while classmate Marcus Way leads the team in on-base percentage at .431 and walks with 22. The older O’Hara is right behind the pair, standing at second in batting average (.323), on-base percentage (.411), and walks (19), while slugging at a .476 clip for third-best on the team. Reynolds and Albright are tied for the RBI lead with 21, and O’Hara leads the team in runs with 27. But while such a balance is impressive, it’s hardly telling the whole story as the Crimson has seen strong offensive outbursts from all of its hitters

“Even Kyle Larrow, who’s down in the nine hole, he had a couple outstanding games,” Walsh said.

So there’s really no question that Harvard has the talent to make the Ivy League tournament, and with a doubleheader against Yale coming up tomorrow, the team has another opportunity to take control on the field and roll into its weekend games against Dartmouth (19-13, 9-5) with momentum. It just has to make strong performances a certainty rather than a question mark. And should the Crimson succeed in making the tournament, its raw talent alone over the course of the season indicates that Harvard can make it all the way.

—Staff writer Christina C. McClintock can be reached at ccmcclin@fas.harvard.edu.