PHILADELPHIA – No. 2 seed Harvard University baseball's run at the 2023 Ivy League Tournament came to a close as the Crimson fell to No. 1 seed Penn, 10-7, in a winner's bracket game before felling to No. 3 seed Princeton, 10-3, in an elimination game on Sunday afternoon at Tommy Lasorda Field at Meiklejohn Stadium.
Competing in the inaugural four-team Ivy League Tournament, the Crimson (20-24) topped Princeton on Friday to enter the winner's bracket but could not extend its time in Philadelphia, dropping decisions to the Quakers (31-14) and Tigers (24-22) – the two teams that will now meet in the championship game on Monday.
The results bring Harvard's 2023 season to an end in a year in which the Crimson won six of its seven Ivy League series, posted a 15-6 Ivy League mark, and earned the second seed in the first-ever Ivy League Tournament.
In game one, junior
Ben Rounds hit his sixth home run of the year, finishing 2-for-3 with three runs scored while junior
Peter Messervy and senior
Hunter Baldwin each posted two hits, and senior
Will Jacobsen notched two RBIs.
In game two, junior
Jake Berger launched his sixth homer of the year, registering two hits and two RBIs while Baldwin added another two hits. Berger led the Crimson with a .417 average (5-for-12) over the team's three games at the tournament.
Gallery: (5-21-2023) Baseball: Ivy Tournament Sunday
GAME 1: No. 1 seed Penn 10, No. 2 seed Harvard 7
Junior
Ben Rounds hit his sixth home run of the year, and senior
Will Jacobsen and junior
Peter Messervy each drove in two runs, but No. 2 seed Harvard fell to No. 1 seed Penn, 10-7, in its first game of the day in a winner's bracket game at the Ivy League Tournament.
The Crimson pulled ahead 4-3 in the top of the fifth before the host Quakers plated six runs in the bottom of the fifth to move ahead 9-4.
Rounds went 2-for-3 with a home run and three runs scored, Messervy finished 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs, and Jacobsen notched two RBIs. Senior
Hunter Baldwin posted two hits, a double, and an RBI.
The contest – originally scheduled for Saturday, May 20 – was rescheduled to Sunday due to the potential for darkness to impact the game on its originally scheduled date.
Harvard Highlights
- Junior Ben Rounds went 2-for-3 with a home run, an RBI, three runs, and two walks. He hit his sixth homer of the season.
- Junior Peter Messervy finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs, a double, two walks, and a run.
- Senior Hunter Baldwin posted a 2-for-4 effort with a double, an RBI, and a walk.
- Senior Will Jacobsen registered two RBIs and a hit.
- First-year Gio Colasante tallied a hit, RBI, and run while senior Logan Bravo scored a pair of runs.
- Junior right-hander Jay Driver threw 4.2 innings in the start, allowing eight runs – four earned – on 10 hits and one walk with five strikeouts.
- Senior left-hander Tim Williamson tossed 3.0 innings in relief, permitting one run on three hits with four strikeouts.
How It Happened
- In the bottom of the first, the Quakers tallied a trio of unearned runs to take an early 3-0 lead.
- Junior Ben Rounds blasted a solo home run to right center field in the top of the third to pull the Crimson within 3-1.
- Harvard trimmed the margin to 3-2 in the top of the fourth as first-year Gio Colasante lifted a sacrifice fly to plate junior Peter Messervy.
- The Crimson took a 4-3 lead in the top of the fifth as Messervy drove a two-run double to center field.
- The Quakers then scored six runs in the last of the fifth to re-gain a 9-4 edge.
- Harvard responded with three runs in the top of the sixth to pull within 9-7. Senior Will Jacobsen started the frame's scoring with a two-run single to right field before senior Hunter Baldwin worked a bases-loaded walk.
- Penn added a run in the bottom of the seventh to move ahead 10-7.
GAME 2: No. 3 seed Princeton 10, No. 2 seed Harvard 3
Junior
Jake Berger launched his sixth home run of the season, but Harvard fell to Princeton, 10-3, in an elimination game at the Ivy League Tournament.
The Crimson held an early 2-0 lead and tied the score at 3-3 in the top of the third before the Tigers scored the game's final seven runs.
Berger finished the game 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs, a walk, and a run. Senior
Hunter Baldwin added two hits, a double, and a run, and first-year
Gio Colasante tallied a double and an RBI.
Harvard finished 3-2 on the year against Princeton as the Crimson beat the Tigers, 2-1, in the regular season series before the teams split two matchups at the tournament.
Harvard Highlights
- Junior Jake Berger went 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs, a walk, and a run scored. He launched his sixth home run of the season.
- Senior Hunter Baldwin tallied two hits, a double, and a run.
- First-year Gio Colasante registered a double, an RBI, and two walks.
- Senior Zach Brown notched a double.
- Sophomore right-hander Sean Matson tossed 5.0 innings in the start, allowing five runs – all earned – on eight hits and one walk with three strikeouts.
- Senior right-hander James Kirkpatrick threw 0.2 innings of scoreless relief.
- Sophomore right-hander Cole Cleary hurled 1.0 scoreless inning of relief with one strikeout.
How It Happened
- Junior Jake Berger gave the Crimson an early lead as his RBI single to right field staked the designated visitors to a 1-0 edge in the top of the first.
- Harvard moved its lead to 2-0 in the top of the second behind an RBI double to left center from first-year Gio Colasante.
- Princeton pulled ahead 3-2 with a three-run home run in the bottom of the second.
- Berger knotted the score at 3-3 in the top of the third, driving a solo home run to right center.
- The Tigers moved back ahead, 4-3, with a solo home run in the last of the third.
- Princeton notched another solo home run in the bottom of the fifth, taking a 5-3 lead.
- The Crimson loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the sixth before the Tigers escaped the jam.
- Princeton pushed the margin to 10-3 with five runs in the bottom of the seventh.
