Baseball Notebook: Hordon’s Injury Throws Hendricks Into Mix

HANOVER, N.H.—The one-man wrecking crew that was Dartmouth’s Scott Shirrell took a toll on the Harvard baseball team beyond the 14 runs he knocked home in Saturday’s 25-1 debacle.

The Big Green explosion also jolted the Crimson’s pitching blueprint. Harvard’s weekend rotation this season has consisted of seniors Justin Nyweide and Ben Crockett on Saturdays and junior two-way player Marc Hordon and senior Chaney Sheffield on Sundays. But when Hordon sprained his shoulder sliding into third on Saturday, the Game Four starter became a huge question mark.

Junior Madhu Satyanarayana, who has started a few weekend games for the Crimson, had already been used—and abused—in Saturday’s opener. Classmate Barry Wahlberg was one possibility, especially considering that he did not appear in either of Saturday’s games.

But Harvard Coach Joe Walsh opted to use the righthander in the relief role he has thrived in over the last few weeks. That move paid off when Wahlberg shut down a Dartmouth rally in the first game en route to a 2.1-inning save. It was his fifth straight successful appearance from the bullpen and his fourth save of the year.

That left sophomore Trey Hendricks, who DHed in the early game, to make his first Ivy League start of the season. The power pitcher pitched five innings and, save for a three-run third for Dartmouth, was highly effective with his fastball. Hendricks scattered eight hits and struck out seven.

“Trey was the Game Two starter all the way,” Walsh said. “We feel confident in him. He’s a legitimate weekend pitcher for us. We’ve just been using his bat a lot.”

Absent Hendricks, there’s no telling what Walsh could have done. Junior Kenon Ronz, a starter last year, has been situational reliever all season, and in fact came in to retire lefties at key points late in each of yesterday’s games. Senior third baseman Nick Carter has one career start under his belt, and freshman A.J. Solomine had been been hit hard in relief on Saturday.

All in all, then, Hendricks’ start was a blessing. He did all the Crimson could have asked from him—kept his team within striking distance.

“We did exactly what we needed to do coming into today, got some quality innings from our starters,” said Wahlberg. “Hopefully we’d have a shot at the end and that’s what happened.”

For his part, Walhberg continued to settle into his role as the Crimson closer.

“It’s a different situation,” Wahlberg said of relieving. “You give it all you have for two innings. As a starter you have to kind of stay back for six innings. For me there isn’t that a difference in preparation—I give it all I have every inning I pitch. It’s just that as a reliever, you do it with everything on the line.”

Wahlberg had been rocked in last season’s decisive series against the Big Green, but put out two fires in late-game situations yesterday, including a bases-loaded jam in the nightcap.

“If I have a bad outing, I just put it behind me,” Wahlberg said. “It’s a game of ups and downs, just got to do away with the negatives and stick with the positives. I didn’t have any negatives coming into the ballgame.”

Wahlberg’s past few outings have given him several positives to bring into Wednesday’s showdown with Brown for the Rolfe Division championship. Unless Hordon heals quickly—and Walsh suggested yesterday that this was doubtful—Crockett will be called upon on three days rest. Nyweide, who lasted under three innings Saturday, will be well rested and could appear in relief, but Wahlberg will probably have his number called at one point.