Harvard Baseball Completes Sweep Over Princeton To Close The Season

Despite being eliminated from Ivy League Tournament contention, Harvard baseball closed its season with its best stretch of the year, sweeping Princeton across a Saturday doubleheader and a Sunday finale. The Crimson (11-26, 9-12 Ivy) outscored the Tigers (15-27, 8-13) 28-14 over three games, recording 38 hits and getting strong starts across the series.

Harvard opened the weekend with a 10-3 win before taking game two, 7-5, on Saturday. The team returned to the diamond on Sunday to finish the sweep with an 11-6 victory.

Trailing 3-0 through four innings of the first game, the Crimson flipped the script with 10 unanswered runs over the fifth and sixth innings. Senior third baseman Jordan Kang led the surge, going four-for-five with a three-run home run and three RBIs. Freshman first baseman Matthew Witkow added a two-run triple, while sophomore catcher Liam Wilson chipped in a two-hit game with an RBI double.

On the mound, sophomore left-hander Luca Alagheband notched his first win of the season, giving Harvard five innings and allowing three runs with seven strikeouts. Senior right-hander Jack Smith added four scoreless innings to seal the 10-3 win.

The Crimson carried that momentum into the second game of the doubleheader and made sure to control it early. Harvard jumped out to a 5-0 lead, powered by captain designated hitter Gio Colasante, who went two-for-three with two home runs and four RBIs. Kang continued his strong weekend, finishing three-for-five with a triple and two runs, while sophomore outfielder Gavin Smith added three hits and two doubles.

Junior right-hander Andrew Abler delivered six innings without a walk, allowing three runs and earning the win. Freshman left-hander Brett Gable recorded the final outs to knotch is third save of the season despite Princeton scoring twice in the eighth to pull within 7-5.

On Sunday, Harvard completed the sweep with another early multi-run inning. The Crimson scored three runs in the first inning and broke the game open with six more in the fifth, building a 9-1 lead that held the rest of the way.

Wilson led the lineup with four RBIs, including a bases-clearing double. Junior catcher Dominic Brancel added a two-run home run and finished with three RBIs, while Kang continued his dominant weekend, going three-for-four with two runs.

Colasante contributed on both sides, with two hits and an RBI at the plate while throwing four innings and allowing one run. Sophomore right-hander Daniel Sams closed out the final five outs without allowing a run.

Across the series, the Crimson totaled 38 hits and produced double-digit hits in all three games. Kang, who was named the Ivy League Player of the Week, hit .714 on the week and drove in six runs, while Colasante’s three home runs and Wilson’s six RBIs across the final two games highlighted the depth of Harvard’s lineup.

The sweep pushes the Crimson’s record to 9-12 in Ivy League play, but it fell short of qualifying for the Ivy League Tournament later this month, where only the top four teams in the conference compete. Still, Harvard closed the season on a three-game win streak and secured its second Ivy League series victory of the year, thanks to more consistent play at the plate and on the mound.

—Staff writer Tamar H. Scheinfeld can be reached at [email protected].