Fresh Arms Lead the Charge

Last year, a string of untimely injuries forced the Harvard baseball team to put its trust in the hands of inexperienced freshman and sophomore pitchers. But this season, it’s looking like the Crimson’s pitching staff may just be the key to its success.

Harvard, which begins its season tomorrow against Notre Dame, will take the field with a strong and improved defensive lineup, hoping to build on last season’s 13-28 record.

“We think our strength this year is going to be on the mound,” Crimson coach Joe Walsh says. “We’ve got—to use a Harvard word—a ‘plethora’ of arms this year.”

The Crimson’s pitchers range from freshmen to seniors and include several players returning from injuries. Junior ace Max Perlman was dealt a serious blow last season when he injured his elbow in his first start of the year, but will be returning this spring after recovering from Tommy John surgery. Coach Walsh believes both Perlman and senior Jonathan Strangio have successfully recovered and are ready to start on the mound for Harvard.

“I think Perlman’s not only one of the best pitchers around,” Walsh says. “I think he’s capable of being one of the best pitchers East Coast, West Coast, or wherever.”

The Crimson will also be looking to pitchers who emerged both last year and in fall ball. Sophomores Brent Suter, Will Keuper, Jonah Klees, and Connor Hulse all made big contributions last season, with Suter leading the team in ERA, wins, and strikeouts.

“We think [Suter’s] going to battle out there, he’s just such a good athlete,” Walsh says. “Maybe one of the best athletes I’ve ever coached.”

Junior Zach Hofeld and freshmen Andrew Ferreira, Joey Novak, and Matt Doyle have also shown some impressive preseason play that bodes well for the next few months.

“I’ve got huge problems in the sense that we have guys that might not make a trip, and someday they might be starting for us,” Walsh says.

But Walsh realizes that his problems are good ones to have.

“I don’t know a coach who wouldn’t want it that way,” he adds.

The rest of Harvard’s lineup is characterized by a mix of returning players and rookies filling in some key positions left open by last year’s seniors, such as sluggers Matt Rogers and Tom Stack-Babich. Junior Dillon O’Neill will play a crucial role in center field, while junior Sam Franklin and senior Chris Rouches, along with injured sophomore J.T. Tomes, are possibilities for the corner outfield spots.

Freshmen Rob Wineski and Dan Moskovits are in a battle for third base, and sophomore Jeff Reynolds is expected to get a look at second. Senior Dan Zailskas will likely return at first base, while junior Sean O’Hara will look to stay injury-free at shortstop. Finally, junior captain Tyler Albright will anchor the Crimson behind home plate.

Both Albright and O’Hara received preseason mentions in The College Baseball Insider for their impressive defensive play, but the 2009 squad’s strong graduating class left some serious holes at the plate with its departure.

“We’ve got some question marks,” Walsh says. “Is our lineup going to be one that’s going to hit a lot of balls out of the yard? No. But I think we’ve got some guys in there that every once in a while are capable of driving the ball.”

The Crimson will see how it fares in tomorrow’s season opener against the Fighting Irish in DeLand, Fla., at the Bright House Invitational.

The Invitational, along with the subsequent Metrodome Tournament, are part of a challenging early non-conference schedule that has become characteristic of Harvard baseball.

“Our first series, those teams have always been powerhouses,” Albright says. “Spring break is a transition—it’s a game a day. If we come off strong, we can get into the [NCAA] tournament.”

Coach Walsh agrees that the Crimson’s tough opening schedule sets it up for division success later on.

“We like to play those teams, we get better playing those teams,” he says. “And we expect to win.”

As for the other Ivies, results may be a bit unpredictable. Brown and Princeton both have strong left-handed pitching, and Columbia, Cornell, and Penn have all improved in recent years.

“I don’t see any team being dominant, but I don’t see any weak teams,” Walsh says.

The coach also points out that many Ancient Eight squads have lost more talent than they gained during the offseason. While one may be able to say the same about Harvard, Walsh sees his team’s youth in a positive light.

A senior-dominated program could be a great advantage in the future, but the coach is quick to emphasize that the current season is clearly top priority.

“I’m not here to go through the motions,” Walsh says. “We want to win, we want to be a good ball club.”

The Crimson players share the sentiment and are making their intentions just as clear.

“Everyone’s just hungry to win,” Albright says. “And we’re ready to win.”

—Staff writer Madeleine Smith can be reached at smith21@college.harvard.edu.