Harvard Baseball Trades 6-0 Shutouts in Doubleheader with Brown

Recap, photo courtesy of Harvard University

Ellis tallied a team-high four hits on the afternoon (Elan Kawesch).
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Finishing up its second Ivy League Red Rolfe series, Harvard baseball split a pair of shutout decisions, 0-6 and 6-0, with Brown to claim a series victory, 3-1. Harvard improved to 15-21 overall and 8-8 in Ivy play, while Brown moved to 12-22 on the season with a 6-10 mark in conference play.

Game One: L, 6-0
Harvard fell in the opening game of the afternoon, 6-0, after being held to five hits over seven innings. Senior Mitch Klug and junior Josh Ellis tallied two hits apiece, while Klug and sophomore Conor Quinn recorded doubles.

Sophomore Ian Miller got the start on the mound, striking out five over 3.2 innings against five hits,
five walks and three runs. Seniors TJ Laurisch and Sean O'Neill threw the final 3.1 frames, combining for three punch outs.

After a scoreless first two frames, Brown put three on the boards in the top of the third after a pair of run scoring singles, the latter of which drove in two to give the Bears a 3-0 lead. Brown extended the advantage to 6-0 with a three-run double in the top of the sixth, and held Harvard's hitters scoreless to secure the win.

Game Two: W, 6-0
Freshman Kevin Stone had a career-best outing on the mound in game two, leading the Crimson to a 6-0 victory. The first year pitcher threw a career-high eight innings with a career-best eight strikeouts, scattering four hits with no runs against. Senior Shaun Rubin closed the game with a scoreless ninth frame.

Seven Harvard hitters tallied a hit, led by two apiece from Ellis, and sophomores John Fallon and Matt Rothenberg. Rothenberg recorded a game-high two RBI, while Fallon, freshman Patrick McColl and junior Drew Reid also drove in runs.

Reid gave the Crimson a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second after an RBI-groundout, and the lead jumped to 4-0 in the bottom of the third after an RBI single from Fallon and a two-run double from Rothenberg.

The Crimson continued to score runs in the fourth, with McColl singling home freshman John Maclean to put Harvard up 5-0. McColl later scored to push Harvard's advantage to 6-0, advancing home after a throw to second on a stolen base.

Stone and Rubin held Brown off the scoreboard over the final innings, shutting down any rally attempt to close the victory. The win marked Harvard's sixth in its past seven Ivy contests, and moved the team into second place in the Red Rolfe division.

Harvard heads to UMass Lowell for its final non-conference contest of 2016. The game will begin at 6 p.m., and will be broadcast on AmericaEast.tv.