All-Around Performance Rewarded in Sweep

Early in the season, Harvard baseball has struggled to combine its pitching potential with strong offensive performances in a single game. During yesterday’s doubleheader, the team found each when it mattered.

Picking up against Penn (10-11, 0-4 Ivy League) at Meiklejohn Field in games rescheduled due to Sunday rain, the Crimson (4-16, 2-2) used dramatic comebacks in both contests to sweep the Quakers and even its league record. Freshman Brent Suter threw a sterling complete game to silence Penn in the day’s opener for a 6-4 win, before Harvard’s bats took over in the nightcap. Senior left fielder Matt Rogers belted two home runs, including a two-run shot in the eighth inning, to help the Crimson overcome a five-run deficit and dispatch the Quakers 15-11 in 11 innings.

“I can’t say enough good things about [Rogers] right now,” captain Harry Douglas said. “He’s crushing the ball. He’s an offensive force and every time he steps up to the plate we’re really confident in him.”

With the entire offense clicking and a pair of stirring victories, Harvard can breathe a bit easier after getting a foothold in the league standings.

“Once you get going, everything gets a lot easier,” Rogers said. “Getting two [wins] in a row today…sets the tone for the rest of our Ivy League season.”

HARVARD 15, PENN 11

Down 11-10 in the ninth, sophomore Sean O’Hara came to the plate with the bases loaded and one out, looking to deliver a sweep for the Crimson. The shortstop got the job done, but a base running blunder prevented a lead change. O’Hara grounded to Penn shortstop Derek Vigoa, who knocked down the ball but had no play—at least until sophomore catcher Tyler Albright was waved around from second and easily gunned down, leaving the score knotted at 11. Two innings later, though, an RBI double by freshman Jeff Reynolds and a three-run homer from junior Dan Zailskas gave Harvard its second thrilling victory of the day.

In an offensive slugfest that saw 29 hits and five balls clear the fence—four off of Crimson bats—Harvard had to climb out of a hole again due to a three-run Penn first inning against the starter Zailskas. An eight-run sixth, which chased Zailskas and battered freshman reliever Will Keuper, seemed to doom the Crimson before the late offensive eruption.

“Our offense salvaged us today with long balls,” Harvard coach Joe Walsh said. “We’ve got a lot of confidence and, while we sometimes haven’t finished [games] off, we have had a good approach at the plate.”

Down 11-6 in the eighth, senior Jon Roberts plated himself and Reynolds with a two-run shot to left, setting the table for a dramatic ninth inning. Penn reliever Vince Voiro failed to record an out in the frame, yielding a single to senior Taylor Meehan before Rogers stepped into the box. The left fielder capped a five-hit, five-RBI day by smashing his second home run over the left-center field wall, bringing the score to 11-10. With Voiro gone, Tom Grandieri faired no better in the relief role, yielding singles to Douglas and Albright before Reynolds sacrifice bunted. After intentionally walking Roberts to set up the double play, Grandieri almost got his wish before O’Hara’s legs and an errant throw dashed the Quakers’ hopes of a split.

Through the offensive explosion, rookie Jonah Klees picked up the win with a strong outing. The freshman logged 3.2 innings of no-hit ball, allowing only a walk against 12 batters faced.

HARVARD 6, PENN 4

Penn jumped out to an early lead, but Suter (3-2) worked a brilliant seven-inning game to keep the Crimson in contention and notch the squad’s first Ivy League win of the season.

After spotting the Quakers four runs in the first two innings, Harvard began to climb back with clutch hitting. Douglas atoned for an early error at third base with a two-out RBI single in the third and an RBI double in the sixth that capped the Crimson scoring. Sophomore Dillon O’Neill and Rogers added two runs apiece on two hits as Harvard capitalized on overmatched Penn starter Reid Terry.

In addition to a consistent offensive display, Suter delivered the true gem on the mound, yielding only one earned run, while striking out six and walking none. The freshman appeared to find his control early and pounded the strike zone—throwing 76 of his 99 pitches for strikes.

“[Suter has] been showing all year that he can be a really good pitcher for us,” Douglas said. “When he’s on, he’s deadly, so this start was really encouraging.”

After a rocky second featuring three Harvard errors, Suter settled into a groove, scattering three hits over the final five innings—as well as engineering a timely pickoff—without allowing a runner past first base.

The rookie pitcher also got some help on the defensive side, with Albright gunning down Grandieri on a steal attempt in the third and Douglas and Meehan combining to turn the game’s only double play in the bottom of the fifth.

—Staff writer Max N. Brondfield can be reached at mbrondf@fas.harvard.edu.