Baseball Prepares to Take on Columbia, Penn

The Harvard baseball team has not held up the Ivy League Championship trophy since 2005. With a winning record heading into conference play, the Crimson is prepared more than ever to break this drought.

“We are a pretty young group, but are starting to piece things together,” freshman pitcher JT Bernard said. “We are figuring out our identity as a team and are ready to take on the Ivy League.”

Harvard (10-8) will head to New York on Saturday for a doubleheader with Columbia before taking I-95 down to Philadelphia for a twinbill with Penn the following day. The games against the Lions (3-13) and Quakers (9-9) will mark the northernmost ballparks Harvard has played in this season.

Fresh off a four-game series in which Harvard took the final three contests against Army, the Crimson heads into the weekend having scored a total of 46 runs over the past four games. In this span, Harvard totaled 54 hits and allowed an average of just five runs per game.

“Getting in a lot of runs gave our team great confidence during the weekend,” captain Josh Ellis said. “The pitchers also benefitted off their strong performance.”

Offensively, these numbers are a step in the right direction for a team that struggled earlier in the season to put runs on the board. As a team, the Crimson is hitting .262. The team scored three or fewer runs in six of its first 14 games before the 46 last weekend.

Several key contributors for Harvard are entering conference play on hot streaks. Sophomore first baseman Patrick McColl tallied five RBIs on Sunday, highlighted by a home run in the final matchup with the Black Knights.

Sunday’s doubleheader also saw sophomore outfielder Patrick Robinson and senior shortstop Drew Reid collect five hits each. For his performance last weekend, Robinson was named Ivy League Player of the Week. He enters Ivy League play leading the conference in batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage.

However, the Crimson will need to make sure that it stays fresh after a relatively long layoff between games. With Wednesday’s home matchup against Holy Cross canceled, Harvard will need to adjust to a week of relatively poor practice weather to be fully prepared for the Lions on Saturday. The Crimson’s sole loss out of four games to Army came on the first game, so jumping on live pitching early will be critical for Harvard’s success.

“We are coming back strong offensively and defensively after a long break,” Bernard said. “Our freshman arms are really starting to come into their own.”

Harvard’s pitching is led by sophomore Kevin Stone, who has a team-high three wins, and junior Ian Miller, who holds a 2.90 ERA. The Crimson’s four freshman arms have combined for 34 and a third innings this season.

Of the two opponents, Columbia has had more struggles in nonconference play. Having a team earned run average of 6.70 and a .237, batting average the Lions have struggled to consistently pick up clutch hits and limit its opponents on offense.

However, Columbia has rebounded from an 0-10 start by splitting its last six contests. In Ivy League play a year ago, the Lions went 10-10, good enough for a second-place tie with Penn in the Lou Gehrig Division.

Columbia’s two biggest weapons this season are junior infielder Randell Kanemaru, who is hitting .373 with 19 hits and 10 RBIs, and sophomore outfielder Ben Porter, who holds a .313 batting average with 20 hits and 12 RBIs to date.

In Penn, Harvard faces a tougher pitching matchup, with two Quaker starters holding ERAs under 2.00. Senior righthander Jake Cousins and senior lefthander Mike Reitcheck have each pitched more than 25 innings on the season and have two wins apiece.

The Crimson will need to pay attention to Penn’s offensive leader, sophomore infielder Sean Phelan. His .420 on-base percentage is far and away the highest on the team, and the Devon, Pa. native leads the team in hits.

The Quakers are currently riding a seven-game winning streak, so Harvard will need to find ways to control the Penn’s high-powered offense and skilled pitching. During the seven-game win streak, the Quakers have outscored their opponents, 42-23. With 20 of its 24 games coming against conference foes, the Crimson can largely throw its nonconference success out the window.

“It’s been a fun group to be around,” Ellis said. “I think this is something that is pretty unique to this team and it has been a fantastic experience so far.”

—Contributing writer Henry Zhu can be reached at hzhu@college.harvard.edu.