Offensive Struggles Plague Road-Weary Crimson

In the last few games of its trip down South, the Harvard men’s baseball squad (1-13, 0-0 Ivy) looked to improve upon a difficult start to the season against a talented Charlotte team.

Despite a strong defensive effort, the 49ers (15-5, 0-0 A10) won three straight games at home over the Crimson, as scoring droughts continued to plague Harvard.

“I think we improved over the [course of the trip],” said senior right-handed pitcher Max Perlman. “Obviously it was a tough weekend for us, but there were a lot of positives...It’s all there, we just need to put it all together.”

CHARLOTTE 7, HARVARD 2

After a two-inning stalemate, Charlotte was first to light up the scoreboard in yesterday’s matchup, as sophomore infielder Justin Roland crossed the plate for the 49ers in the third.

Charlotte stretched its lead to three by the end of the inning and took a commanding 5-0 advantage by the end of the fifth.

It wasn’t until the ninth inning—after the 49ers had increased their comfortable lead to seven—that Harvard scored its only two runs of the weekend.

After being hit by a pitch, junior second baseman Jeff Reynolds stole second as another ball got away from Charlotte sophomore Wes Hatley, and a double from freshman center fielder Steven Dill sent the junior home.

Senior right-handed pitcher Andrew Hatch crossed the plate for the Crimson soon after, taking advantage of yet another wild pitch from the 49ers.

For the third straight afternoon, Harvard had its chances—including seven hits—but was unable to capitalize on a majority of scoring opportunities.

“We’ve been hitting okay,” Reynolds said. “We just can’t string a few together. When we do get on base, we’ve been hitting it right at people.”

CHARLOTTE 7, HARVARD 0

The 49ers continued to shut down Harvard’s attack in Saturday’s game, holding Crimson batters to just four hits in 31 at-bats.

“We faced really good pitching this weekend,” Perlman said. “We need to communicate...and focus on the little things. We showed flashes of great play, and we played good defense the entire week. Now it’s about putting it all together.”

The second game was much closer than indicated by the score, as Harvard and Charlotte were tied, 0-0, until the 49ers earned a 1-0 advantage in the fifth.

A six-run seventh inning by the hosts pushed the game out of reach for the Crimson. Harvard rallied for two hits in the seventh and one in the eighth but did not share its opponent’s scoring success.

Senior left-handed pitcher Eric Eadington played well for the Crimson, allowing just one run in six innings and keeping the Crimson in the game.

CHARLOTTE 2, HARVARD 0

In what was perhaps the best defensive effort of the weekend, Harvard held Charlotte to just two runs but lost a tight matchup last Friday.

“Defensively, I think we played really well,” Reynolds said. “All of our pitchers threw well and gave us a chance. We just have to figure out ways to score, how to push it across the plate.”

Crimson hurlers—led by Perlman—had an especially strong showing, striking out six batters and allowing just one run in seven innings of play.

Despite the disappointing losses to Charlotte, Harvard saw a lot of positives in its performance at the end of break.

“Our pitching is going to be solid and has been pretty solid,” Reynolds said. “Our defense has gotten much better. We’ve been making fewer errors in last few game.”

“We went into this season with pretty high hopes and we still have those,” Perlman continued. “This week has humbled us, and I think the experience will prepare us for the Ivy League season. We need to work hard this week and we’ll be ready to go.”

—Staff writer Catherine E. Coppinger can be reached at ccoppinger@college.harvard.edu.