Harvard Baseball Falls to Massachusetts, 6-2, In Beanpot Consolation

Recap, photo courtesy of Harvard University

Harvard falls to 2-1 in the season series to the Minutemen (Rob Foldy).
NORTHBOROUGH, Mass. – Putting an end to the 2016 Beanpot, Harvard baseball fell to Massachusetts, 6-2, in the consolation round on Wednesday at New England Baseball Complex.
The Crimson (12-20) was led at the plate by freshman Patrick McColl, who tallied a career-best four hits. Sophomore Matt Rothenberg tallied the lone RBI on the day for Harvard, which left 12 runners on base throughout the contest.

Junior Kevin Rex got the start against the Minutemen (9-17), but the Crimson threw six different pitchers in the game. Seniors Matt Sanders and Sean O'Neill and sophomore Noah Zavolas combined for four scoreless innings in relief.

Harvard took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first after Klug scored following a throwing error. The second baseman started the series with a double down the left field line, and Rothenberg followed with a deep single to shortstop that forced an errant throw home for Klug to score. The hit for Rothenberg extended his reached-base streak to 16 games.

The Minutemen added two in the bottom of the first and one in the bottom of the second to take a 3-1 lead, but the Crimson pulled one back in the top of the third after a sacrifice fly from Rothenberg, 3-2.

Massachusetts doubled its advantage, 4-2, after an error in the fourth inning. Harvard had a pair of two-out, bases-loaded opportunities in the sixth and seventh innings but came up empty. A solo home run in the bottom of the seventh gave Massachusetts a three-run lead, securing the victory.

Harvard hosts Brown for four games this weekend, April 23-24. The games on Saturday can be viewed on ESPN3, and the entire series will be broadcast on the Ivy League Digital Network.