Baseball Takes Good with the Bad in Opening Weekend

In baseball, first impressions are usually a fuzzy indicator of how a team will perform over the course of an entire season. At the start of any given year, coaches are still tinkering with their lineups, players are still ironing out the kinks and some teams are bound to have more games under their belts than others.

That said, the Harvard baseball team did little to bring things into focus this past weekend in Florida. While the Crimson (2-3) showed lots of cause for optimism in winning two of its opening five games, there were still enough miscues in the field and on the basepaths to remind the team that work remains to be done.

First, the good news. On the rubber, one sturdy veteran and three promising newcomers all sparkled, though their efforts met with mixed results. And at the plate, the Crimson hammered out 51 hits in the five games, and had no fewer than eight hits in any one.

Most notably, senior left fielder Joe Llanes--who is recovering from offseason surgery for testicular cancer--went 11-for-18 on the weekend with a home run and 4 stolen bases.

By the third game of the trip, Llanes--who had hit leadoff in the season opener on Friday--was moved to the three-hole. He proceeded to go 8-for-13 after making the switch.

Despite all these positive signs, however, this weekend also served to pinpoint two areas where Harvard could stand to improve--namely, defense and baserunning.

In two of its losses, the Crimson committed a total of nine errors, which translated into seven costly unearned runs.

In the third defeat, Harvard's blunders on the basepaths ended several potential scoring chances against Ohio State. In a game in which runs were at a premium already, the unsurprising result was a 4-1 loss.

Vermont 3, Harvard 2

On Sunday, Catamount hurlers Trevor Marcotte and Jamie Merchant scattered eight hits over eight innings to shut down the Crimson, 3-2.

The loss spoiled a fine combined effort from two of Harvard's newest pitchers.

Sophomore righty Barry Wahlberg got the starting nod for the Crimson. After giving up a run on a pair of hits in the first inning, Wahlberg settled in and was touched for just one additional run over the next 4.1 innings.

He was spelled by freshman Trey Hendricks, who impressed through three innings of work, yielding just three hits and one walk. But with the game knotted at two in the home half of the eighth, a Harvard error paved the way for Vermont's go-ahead score.

The unearned run was charged to Hendricks, who ended the day as the tough-luck loser.

For Harvard, junior DH Javy Lopez went 2-for-4. He delivered the Crimson's second run in the fifth when his single to right scored junior second baseman Faiz Shakir, who had doubled.

Junior third baseman Nick Carter plated the Crimson's first run in the fourth inning on a fielder's choice.

Harvard 9, Fairleigh Dickinson 1

Earlier in the day, freshman starter Marc Hordon--despite nursing a separated shoulder in his non-throwing arm--made a sparkling collegiate debut, yielding just one run and two hits over seven innings.

The rookie struck out seven and walked just two to earn his first win in a Harvard uniform.

The Crimson hitters made it as painless as possible for Hordon, spotting him a 7-0 lead after two innings.

Hendricks led the early onslaught, pounding out a pair of a singles to drive in three runs. Scot Hopps added an an RBI double and Llanes added three singles of his own.

Senior right fielder Scott Carmack, freshman center fielder Bryan Hale and Llanes each crossed the plate twice for the Crimson.

Sophomore righthander Madhu Saty relieved Hordon after the seventh, closing out the win with two innings of one-hit ball.

Northwestern 11, Harvard 6

In one of the Crimson's more disappointing outings this weekend, Harvard jumped out to a 5-0 lead after two innings, but five errors in the field allowed Northwestern to creep back into the game.

After tying the game with five runs of their own in the third, the Wildcats put the game away by scoring seven times in the next four frames.

Harvard starter Justin Nyweide was the victim of the shoddy fielding. The junior righthander went four innings and allowed seven runs, only two of them earned.

Offensively, Llanes and sophomore catcher Brian Lentz each collected three hits on the afternoon, while Carmack and Carter added two apiece.

Despite those impressive individual efforts at the dish, however, the Crimson squandered a number of scoring opportunities. Harvard stranded 11 runners in the loss.

One true bright spot in the game for Harvard was sophomore righty Ryan Tsujikawa, who threw 2.2 innings of hitless relief.

By the time he entered the game, however, the damage was already done.

Harvard 12, Fairleigh Dickinson 6

In a contest that was a lot closer than the final score would indicate, the Crimson demonstrated a skill that was missing last year--putting teams away late in the game.

With the game tied at 6-6 after eight innings, Harvard capitalized on a pair of errors and rallied for six runs in the top of the ninth to conquer the Knights.

During the outburst, Carmack, Carter, junior first baseman Josh San Salvador and freshman third baseman Mickey Kropf each came around to score after drawing walks.

Hopps, who reached on a fielder's choice, and Lopez, who had singled, accounted for the other two runs.

Senior pitcher John Birtwell pitched 3.2 innings of scoreless relief to earn the win.

Sophomore southpaw Kenon Ronz, who started the game, gave up three runs on five hits before being lifted after 4.1 innings.

Ohio State 4, Harvard 1

In a battle between two of the country's top hurlers, the difference between victory and defeat came down to who made fewer mistakes.

And while Harvard junior starter Ben Crockett hit his spots most of the day--going 7.2 strong innings without allowing a walk--there are probably at least two pitches he wishes he could have back.

With the score tied 1-1 after three and a half innings, Crockett surrendered two solo home runs over the next three frames. The Buckeyes then added an extra run in the bottom of the eighth to spoil the Crimson's season opener, 4-1.

Harvard's only run came in the top of the fourth, when Mager singled home Lentz, who had led off the inning with a single of his own.

Ohio State ace E. J. Laretta received the win, walking just one batter and striking out four in 7.2 innings to up his record to 3-1 on the year. The junior righthander and preseason All-American did surrender nine hits on the day, but Harvard's mistakes on the basepaths killed its best scoring opportunities.

The most agonizing blunder occured in the bottom of the ninth, when Hale was picked off first base for the final out with Llanes due up representing the trying run.

The Crimson had already had one other runner picked off first and one doubled off of second before that point.

But while those running mistakes, as well as the fielding misplays in the later games, may have been troubling, they were mostly mental lapses that can be easily corrected. The more troubling matters from last year--such as Harvard's inability to come back from behind--seem well on their way to being resolved.