Baseball Falls to B.C., Finishes Last in Beanpot

BOSTON--The Harvard baseball team got the opportunity yesterday to do something every Little Leaguer dreams about when it took the field at Fenway Park for the Beanpot consolation game.

Unfortunately, the game's result proved less than magical, as Boston College downed Harvard, 8-5.

With the loss, the Crimson (15-19, 8-5 Ivy) finishes last among the four Beanpot teams for the first time in the eleven-year history of the tournament.

Harvard also has dropped its last four games.

In each of those contests, the Crimson has jumped out to an early lead, but then allowed the opposition to sneak back into the game.

Yesterday, Harvard owned a 4-2 advantage after four and a half innings of play, but a four-run explosion by the Eagles (28-14) in the bottom of the fifth put the Crimson away.

"We seem to always start off well, but then we lose it in the end," said sophomore third baseman Nick Carter.

Senior pitcher Mike Madden's outing yielded mixed results for Harvard, as the right hander displayed flashes of brilliance while flirting with disaster.

Madden (2-1) had trouble in the early-going, surrendering two runs in the bottom of the first after facing just three batters.

After that point, however, Madden settled into a groove, retiring twelve of the next fourteen batters he faced.

Madden's effectiveness during the middle innings allowed Harvard a chance to get back into the game.

In the bottom of the second, the Crimson capitalized on that opportunity, pulling across a pair of runs to tie the game at 2-2.

With one out, Carter laced a single to right and advanced to third when junior center fielder John O'Donnell reached on a throwing error by B.C. shortstop Mike Hubbard. Junior left fielder Joe Llanes then brought Carter home with a groundout to second base.

O'Donnell scored later in the inning on a wild pitch by Eagles starter Erik Olson.

Harvard eventually moved into the lead in the top of the fifth. Sophomore shortstop Mark Mager led off the inning with an infield single and moved to single on another error by Hubbard.

Franey followed with a RBI-double to the triangle in center field, and advanced to third on a groundout by junior right fielder Scott Carmack.

With junior designated hitter Scott Hopps at the plate, Harvard coach Joe Walsh then made a gutsy call, sending Franey with the pitch as part of a suicide squeeze play.

Hopps executed the play to perfection, laying down a well-placed bunt just in front of home plate. Franey crossed the plate with ease, putting the Crimson up by two.

The Harvard lead would not last long, however. By the bottom of the fifth, the Eagles had figured Madden out.

In that inning, B.C. got singles from its first three batters, producing one run and putting runners at the corners. Eagles right fielder Mike Quirk then hit a sacrifice fly to center to bring home the tying run.

Designated hitter Steve Langone followed with a double to the left field corner that plated the Eagles' fifth run.

At that point, Harvard senior Matt Devine relieved Madden. Devine eventually closed out the inning, but not before B.C. scored its sixth run, which eventually proved to be the game-winner.

Though the Crimson managed to cut the deficit to 6-5 with a run in the sixth, the Eagles added two more runs in the bottom of the inning off Crimson reliever Justin Nyweide to seal the win.

In all, the Harvard pitchers allowed seven earned runs on nine hits, while striking out six.

"Our pitching's been good," Carter said. "But we haven't been as good as we have to be."

Early in the game, Harvard had several opportunities to score more runs than it did. On too many occasions, however, the Crimson failed to come through in the clutch.

In the top of the first, three walks by Olson loaded the bases for Harvard with two outs. Hopps, however, popped out to short to end the inning.

The Crimson threatened again in the fourth inning, when sophomore second baseman Faiz Shakir, one of Harvard's hottest hitters, strode to the plate with the sacks full and only one out.

B.C. reliever Mark Sullivan, however, got Shakir to ground into a tailor-made 6-4-3 double play to escape from the inning unscathed.

The Crimson stranded eight runners overall.

"We've had trouble stringing hits together," Carter said. "That's pretty much been the story all season."

Next up for the Crimson is Ivy rival Yale. The two teams collide this afternoon in a make-up of a game that was rained out two weeks ago.

The Bulldogs, who occupy last place in the Red Rolfe Division standings, have prevailed in two of the teams' three previous meetings this season.

"We need to jump on them early," Carter said. "We definitely need the win going into the weekend."