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.
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).
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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 6
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.
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.
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.
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+).
