HANOVER, N.H. – Senior
Hunter Baldwin launched a go-ahead grand slam in the ninth inning in game one, and junior
Peter Messervy hit a go-ahead, bases-clearing double in the eighth in game two as Harvard University baseball swept a doubleheader from Dartmouth, 6-3 and 10-6, on Saturday afternoon at Red Rolfe Field at Biondi Park.
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Facing late-inning deficits in both games, the Crimson (10-16, 6-2 Ivy) came back from a 3-2 deficit in the ninth inning in game one and rallied from a 6-3 margin in the eighth in game two on its way to capturing both games of the series-opening twin bill with the Big Green (1-22, 0-8 ivy).
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Harvard improved to 8-2 in its last 10 games. With the doubleheader sweep, the Crimson has now won each of its first three Ivy League series on the season. Harvard earned 2-1 series wins over both Penn and Princeton to start its conference slate.
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In game one, Baldwin hit his second career home run and first homer since March 2019 as part of a 3-for-4 effort, while junior
Jake Berger hit a two-run home run in the top of the first for his fourth homer of the year. Junior right-hander
Jay Driver threw 7.1 innings in the start, and senior left-hander
Harrison Stovern tossed 1.2 innings in relief, earning the win.
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In game two, Messervy went 4-for-5 with three RBIs, three runs, and a double, senior
Logan Bravo finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs, senior
Ben Rounds drove in two runs, and Berger hit his second home run of the day and fifth of the season. On the mound, junior right-hander
Chris Clark threw 7.0 innings in the start, matching his career high with 11 strikeouts. First-year
Callan Fang tossed 2.0 scoreless innings of relief, earning his first career save.
GAME 1: Harvard 6, Dartmouth 3
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Senior
Hunter Baldwin hit a grand slam – his second career home run and first homer since March 2019 – in the top of the ninth to propel Harvard to a 6-3 win over Dartmouth in game one of the series.
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After Harvard took an early 2-0 lead, the Big Green moved ahead 3-2 with a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth before Baldwin blasted his first homer of the season to put the Crimson back in front at 6-3 in the top of the ninth.
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Alongside Baldwin's grand slam, junior
Jake Berger hit a two-run home run in the top of the first for his fourth homer of the year. Junior right-hander
Jay Driver threw 7.1 innings in the start, and senior left-hander
Harrison Stovern tossed 1.2 innings in relief, earning the win.
Harvard Highlights
- Senior Hunter Baldwin went 3-for-4 with a grand slam, four RBIs, and a run scored. He hit his first homer of the year, second of his career, and first since March 30, 2019. Baldwin posted season highs in hits and RBIs.
- Junior Jake Berger notched his fourth homer run of the year, finishing the game 2-for-5 with two RBIs, a homer, a double, and a run scored.
- Junior right-hander Jay Driver threw 7.1 innings in the start in his longest outing of the season, allowing three runs – all earned – on six hits and no walks with seven strikeouts. He tallied six or more strikeouts for the fifth time this season.
- Senior left-hander Harrison Stovern earned the win, tossing 1.2 innings in relief and permitting no runs on one hit and no walks with two strikeouts.
- Junior Peter Messervy contributed a 2-for-4 effort with a run and a walk.
- First-year Gio Colasante added a double and a run, sophomore Matt Giberti tallied a hit and run, and first-year Jordan Kang worked a walk and scored a run in a pinch-hit appearance.
- Harvard totaled 11 hits in the contest, marking its 10th game this season with double-figure hits. The Crimson registered double-digit hits for the fourth time in Ivy play.Â
How It Happened
- Berger opened the game's scoring in the top of the first, sending a two-run home run to right field to give the Crimson an early 2-0 lead.
- Dartmouth cut the lead to 2-1 with a run in the bottom of the fifth.
- The Big Green threatened in the last of the sixth, loading the bases with two outs before Driver induced a fly out to escape the jam.
- In the bottom of the eighth, Dartmouth plated a pair of runs to take a 3-2 edge.
- The Crimson responded in the top of the ninth. After Colasante hit a lead-off double, Giberti then reached with a bunt single before Kang worked a walk – the game's first base on balls. Baldwin then launched a grand slam to right center field to put the Crimson back up at 6-3.
- Stovern then hurled a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth to seal the win.
GAME 2: Harvard 10, Dartmouth 6Â
Junior
Peter Messervy hit a bases-clearing double in the top of the eighth to turn a 6-5 deficit into an 8-6 advantage as Harvard went on to defeat Dartmouth, 10-6, in game two to sweep the day's doubleheader.
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After the Crimson opened the game with a 3-1 lead, the Big Green came back to take a 6-3 edge before the visitors plated the game's final seven runs, including six runs in the top of the eighth.
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Offensively for Harvard, Messervy went 4-for-5 with three RBIs, three runs, and a double, senior
Logan Bravo finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs, senior
Ben Rounds drove in two runs, and junior
Jake Berger hit his second home run of the day and fifth of the season.
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On the mound, junior right-hander
Chris Clark threw 7.0 innings in the start in his longest outing of the year, matching his career high with 11 strikeouts. First-year
Callan Fang tossed 2.0 scoreless innings of relief, earning his first career save.
Harvard Highlights
- Junior Peter Messervy went 4-for-5 with three RBIs, three runs scored, and a double. He hit a bases-clearing double to put the Crimson in the lead for good in the eighth. Messervy tallied season highs in hits, RBIs, and runs.
- Senior Logan Bravo finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs, a double, a run, and a walk.
- Junior Jake Berger posted a 2-for-5 effort with a home run, RBI, and run. He launched his second homer of the doubleheader and fifth of the season.
- Senior Ben Rounds contributed two hits, two RBIs, and a double.
- Senior Hunter Baldwin added two runs, a hit on a double, an RBI, and a walk.
- First-year Gio Colasante notched a hit, a run, an RBI, and a walk.
- First-year Jordan Kang tacked on a double and a run.
- Junior right-hander Chris Clark threw 7.0 innings in the start – his longest outing of the year – and tied his career high with 11 strikeouts. He allowed six runs, five earned, on six hits and no walks. Clark tallied double-figure strikeouts for the second time this season and recorded seven or more strikeouts for the sixth time this year.
- First-year Callan Fang earned his first career save, tossing 2.0 innings of scoreless relief and giving up just one hit with no walks and three strikeouts.
- Harvard pitchers tallied 14 strikeouts, marking the 11th time this season that the pitching staff has recorded double-figure strikeouts.
- The Crimson scored 10 runs in the game as the team hit the double-figure plateau for the fifth time this season and second time in Ivy play.
- Harvard compiled 14 hits in the game, reaching double-figure hits in both games of the twin bill. Harvard has now hit the mark 11 times on the year and five times in Ivy play.
How It Happened
- Harvard opened the scoring in the top of the first as Rounds sent an RBI double down the left field line to score Messervy from first base.
- In the top of the third, Bravo sent an RBI single to center field as Messervy scored for the second time on the day and the Crimson pushed its lead to 2-0.
- Dartmouth scored an unearned run in the bottom of the third to pull within 2-1.
- Bravo plated his second run of the game in the fifth inning as his RBI single up the middle scored Baldwin and gave the visitors a 3-1 edge.
- In the last of the fifth, the Big Green scored three runs to gain a 4-3 advantage.
- The hosts extended their margin to 6-3 with a pair of runs in the seventh.
- Harvard answered in the top of the eighth, scoring six runs to pull ahead 9-6. Colasante started the scoring with an RBI single to right field before Baldwin worked a walk to bring in a run. Messervy then drove a bases-clearing double down the right field line to plate three and give Harvard an 8-6 edge. Rounds capped the frame's scoring with an RBI single to right center.
- In the top of the ninth, Berger added an insurance run with a solo home run to right field.
- Fang threw scoreless frames in the eighth and ninth to earn the save.
Next Up
Harvard closes the series with Dartmouth tomorrow – Sunday, Apr. 9 – with a single game at noon (ESPN+).