CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard University baseball begins Ivy League play when it competes in a revised three-game series at Columbia University with a doubleheader on Friday, Mar. 22 (ESPN+) and single game on Sunday, Mar. 24 (ESPN+) at Robertson Field at Satow Stadium in New York, New York. 

What to Know

• The Crimson (2-11, 0-0 Ivy) meets the Lions (4-11, 0-0 Ivy) in a doubleheader on Friday, Mar. 22 starting at 11:30 a.m. after officials moved the twin bill that was originally scheduled for Saturday due to weather. The series will close with a single game on Sunday, Mar. 24 at noon.
• Harvard's weekend rotation is set to feature RHP Sean Matson (0-1, 3.32 ERA) in game one, RHP Callan Fang (0-2, 8.41 ERA) in game two, and RHP Truman Pauley (0-1, 12.19 ERA) in game three.
• Harvard leads the all-time series with Columbia, 94-70-1. The two teams first met in 1886. The Crimson swept last season's three-game set.
• Senior designated hitter Ben Rounds has posted a .388 average, .483 OBP, 19 hits, and 13 runs on the season. Rounds has reached base safely in all 13 of the Crimson's games to start the year. He ranks third in the Ivy League in OBP (.483), fourth in average (.388), fifth in runs (13), sixth in OPS (1.075), seventh in hits (19), eighth in doubles (four), and ninth in slugging (.592). He hit .556 (5-for-9) in the team's opening weekend at Troy (Feb. 23-25).
• Junior outfielder Matt Giberti has notched a .323 average on the year with a .432 OBP and an 8-for-8 mark on stolen base attempts. He leads the Ivy League in stolen bases (eight) and ranks 18^th in the NCAA in stolen bases per game (0.67). Giberti earned Ivy League Player of the Week after hitting .556 (5-for-9) with four runs, three doubles, and a .636 OBP in the Penn State series (Mar. 8-10).
• Senior infielder Chris Snopek has hit .265 on the year with a .333 OBP, 13 hits, and nine RBIs. He went 5-for-13 with three runs and a home run in The Citadel (Mar. 2-3) series. Snopek finished 3-for-5 with two homers and four RBIs in game two at Western Carolina (Mar. 16).
• Junior right-hander Sean Matson has posted a 3.32 ERA with 22 strikeouts over 21.2 innings on the year. He leads the Ivy League in opponent batting average (.173), while ranking second in ERA (3.32), fourth in strikeouts (22), third in strikeouts looking (three), and fourth in innings pitched (21.2). In the NCAA rankings, he stands 42^nd in hits allowed per nine innings (5.40). He earned Ivy League Pitcher of the Week on Mar. 4 after throwing 6.1 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts at The Citadel (Mar. 2).
• Sophomore right-hander Callan Fang leads the Ivy League in strikeouts (24), while ranking second in strikeouts looking (six) and fifth in innings pitched (20.1). He tallied a career-high seven strikeouts in back-to-back starts – at The Citadel (Mar. 3) and vs. Penn State (Mar. 10).
• First-year right-hander Andrew Abler has tallied a 4.22 ERA with 10 strikeouts over 10.2 innings. Abler threw 4.0 innings of relief against Troy (Feb. 23), permitting one run on one hit with four strikeouts. He tossed 2.0 innings of scoreless relief at Western Carolina (Mar. 16).
• As a team, Harvard leads the Ivy League in strikeouts (93) and fielding percentage (.967), while ranking third in stolen bases (15-of-16), third in opponent average (.279), and fourth in ERA (8.71). In the NCAA, Harvard sits 80^th in double plays per game (0.77).
• Harvard plays its first 17 games of the season on the road. The Crimson makes four trips to the South, facing Troy (Feb. 23-25), The Citadel (Mar. 1-3), Penn State in Cary, North Carolina (Mar. 8-10), ETSU (Mar. 13), and Western Carolina (Mar. 15-17) before returning to the Northeast for road contests at Columbia (Mar. 23-24) and Holy Cross (Mar. 26). The Crimson will play its first home games vs. Brown (Mar. 30-31).
• Harvard was selected to finish third in the 2024 Ivy League Baseball Preseason Media Poll. The Crimson totaled 97 points to land in the top half of the eight-team poll. Penn took the top spot with 128 points and 16 first-place votes. Columbia (101 points) and Princeton (87 points) claimed the second and fourth spots respectively. Yale (66 points), Cornell (37), Brown (35), and Dartmouth (25) rounded out the fifth through eighth spots in the poll. 

Up Next

Harvard plays at Holy Cross on Tuesday, Mar. 26 at 5:00 p.m. (ESPN+) before returning to Ivy League play with a three-game home series vs. Brown with a doubleheader on Saturday, Mar. 30 starting at 11:30 a.m. (ESPN+) and a single game on Sunday, Mar. 31 at noon (ESPN+).