Strong Efforts Ensure Sweep

Just a day after surrendering 17 runs to Brown, the Harvard pitching staff stepped up its game and allowed only two in a rescheduled doubleheader Monday at O’Donnell Field.

The Crimson (13-20, 6-6 Ivy) returned its conference record to .500 and kept pace with division leader Dartmouth with the two wins over the Bears (11-22, 8-4). Harvard pitchers were the highlight of the afternoon, consistently throwing strikes while effectively keeping Brown runners off of the base paths.

“We needed this sweep, especially after yesterday,” Crimson coach Joe Walsh said. “We avoided our nemesis: the base on balls.”

The Harvard bats also came alive for 15 runs after scoring only four during the Bears’ sweep on Sunday.

“We just had everything: good pitching, timely hitting, and solid defense up the middle,” Walsh said.

HARVARD 9, BROWN 0

Junior Max Perlman and freshman Andrew Ferreira combined to shut out Brown and hold the Bears to five hits in the second game of the twin bill.

Perlman pitched four shutout innings, and gave up four hits and struck out four Brown batters, but was pulled early because the coaching staff had him on a strict pitch count.

Ferreira, who came in from the bullpen to start the fifth, used a sharp curveball to fool the Bears’ hitters, and threw four perfect innings before giving up a single in the ninth. His efforts earned him his first win of the season.

“Some of the guys in the dugout were saying they hadn’t seen a curveball like that since [San Francisco Giants pitcher Barry] Zito, who I had in the Cape League for a couple of years,” Walsh said.

Like the first game, the Crimson offense started up early, scoring two runs in the first inning. Following a walk to junior Sean O’Hara and a double by junior captain Tyler Albright, junior Sam Franklin singled to right, plating two.

Harvard put three more on the board in the third inning to extend its lead to five. With a runner on second, Albright hit a single up the middle, scoring O’Hara. Franklin then singled, plating Albright before reaching home himself on a sacrifice fly by classmate Dillon O’Neill. Franklin led the Crimson hitters with seven RBI’s while hitting 5-8 on the day.

“I thought our hitters were aggressive out there, and then they were taking pitches at the right time,” Walsh said.

Albright hit 3-5 and scored twice while adding on an RBI, and O’Hara scored and walked twice while hitting 1-3.

HARVARD 6, BROWN 2

Franklin singled in two runs in the fifth inning to break a 2-2 tie and give Harvard a lead it would never surrender in the first game of the doubleheader.

“Sam hit the ball well all day,” Walsh said.

Franklin hit 2-4 with 4 RBI’s during the first of the twin bill, and was robbed of a third hit when Brown shortstop Tyler Graham made a leaping catch off of Franklin’s liner to end the sixth inning with the bases loaded.

In addition to his stellar defense, Graham welcomed Crimson sophomore starting pitcher Brent Suter to the mound with a leadoff home run to right field. The Bears tacked on one more in the first when junior Josh Feit singled through the right side of the infield, but Brown was unable to manage any more runs.

Harvard quickly responded to the Bears’ early lead, scoring two of its own in the home half of the frame. With runners on first and second, Franklin doubled down the left field line, scoring O’Hara and sophomore Marcus Way for his first two RBI’s of the game.

Suter calmed down after a rough first inning and pitched the complete seven-inning game to earn his second win of the season.

“Brent was throwing strikes,” Albright said.

The sophomore struck out seven and stranded five Brown runners on the bases en route to the victory.

The Crimson added two more for insurance in the sixth with RBI hits by freshman Kyle Larrow and sophomore Jeff Reynolds, stretching the lead to four.