Baseball/Softball Preview 2012
Respect Your Elders
In April 2009, five rookie softball players watched their Ivy League season end with back-to-back losses to Dartmouth—two defeats that kept their team from an Ivy League Championship Series.
As sophomores, the five experienced even greater heartbreak: losing the league title in a third and decisive game, 3-2, against rival Cornell.
A Brotherly Battery
With the start of the 2012 campaign still a few weeks away, junior captain Andrew Ferreira has already gotten a taste of tough competition. During a recent in-practice scrimmage, the left-handed pitcher was matched up against a familiar face. And when freshman catcher Ethan Ferreira—Andrew’s younger brother—stepped up to the plate, the Harvard baseball team took immediate notice of the imminent display of sibling rivalry.
“You could just sense it,” Harvard coach Joe Walsh recounted. “Andrew’s on the mound, Ethan’s coming to the plate, and all eyes are on the two of them, knowing this is a brother battle.”
Dog Days of Summer
“What are you doing this summer?”
Most people will mention some internship or an adventure abroad, but the Harvard baseball team has a different norm: playing ball.
The Grand Finale
The butterflies were out in full force for then-junior Rachel Brown as she took the mound to begin the Ivy League Championship Series against Cornell last May.
“I was definitely nervous,” Brown said. “It was one of the most nerve-wracking games I’ve ever pitched in.”
"You Want To Talk Some Baseball? Alright..."
FOR LOVE OF THE GAME
“We’ve just had so many guys, including Frank [Herrmann ’06], who just have that love and passion for baseball. I think that’s what separates so many of our players, whether they had great seasons here or not. It’s a game you grow up with as a child; it’s a game that stays with you. And that game of catch that you play in your backyard with your son or daughter is always going to be memorable. I think that’s what makes baseball so special.