NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Junior
Gio Colasante drove in all three of the Crimson's runs as a batter and recorded the save as a pitcher, junior right-hander
Callan Fang threw six innings in the win, and No. 4 seed Harvard University baseball defeated No. 1 seed Yale University, 3-1, in the opening game of the 2025 Ivy League Tournament on Friday afternoon at George H.W. Bush Field.
Competing in the first game of the four-team Ivy League Tournament, the Crimson (13-26) established a 3-0 lead in the third inning and did not permit another run after the Bulldogs (30-13) scored once in the fifth to snap a 10-game winning streak for the hosts.
Harvard will face No. 2 seed Columbia in the winner's side of the bracket tomorrow – Saturday, May 17 – at 4:00 p.m. (ESPN+) on day two of the tournament. The Lions topped No. 3 seed Penn, 4-3, in 10 innings in Friday's second contest.
Colasante tallied three RBIs and two hits at the plate, while registering his first collegiate save as a pitcher. Fang tossed 6.0 innings in the win, allowing one run on two hits and two walks with four strikeouts. Senior
George Cooper and sophomore
Jack Rickheim each posted two hits and a run scored while senior
Matt Giberti added a hit, a run, and a stolen base.
The Crimson won its opening game in the tournament for the second time in the last three years after also capturing its first game at the inaugural tournament in 2023.
Gallery: (5-16-2025) Baseball: Ivy Tournament - Game 1
Harvard Highlights
- Junior Gio Colasante contributed as both a batter and a pitcher, including driving in all three of the Crimson's runs and earning his first career save. At the plate, he went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and a stolen base, notching his fourth game this year with three or more RBIs and 14th multi-hit game. On the mound, he tossed 0.2 innings, allowing no runs and no hits for his first collegiate save. Colasante moved to 9-for-10 on stolen base attempts on the season.
- Junior right-handed pitcher Callan Fang threw 6.0 innings in the start and win, allowing one run on four hits and two walks with four strikeouts.
- Senior George Cooper finished 2-for-4 with a run scored. He now has 187 career hits. Cooper registered his team-high 16th multi-hit game of the year.
- Sophomore Jack Rickheim posted a 2-for-4 effort with a run, a walk, and a stolen base. He recorded his 14th multi-hit game of the season.
- Senior Matt Giberti compiled a hit, a run, and a stolen base. He improved to 20-for-23 on stolen base attempts on the year.
- First-year left-handed pitcher Luca Alagheband tossed 2.1 innings of scoreless relief, permitting no runs on two hits and three walks with two strikeouts.
- Sophomore Tyler Shulman and first-year Liam Wilson each added a hit.
- The Crimson's pitching staff held an opponent to one run for the third time this season.
How It Happened
- The Crimson took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first as Giberti came around to score on an RBI single to left field from Colasante. Giberti reached base on a bunt single before putting himself in scoring position with a stolen base.
- Harvard extended its edge to 3-0 in the top of the third behind a two-run single to center field that plated Rickheim and Cooper.
- Yale trimmed its deficit to 3-1 with an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth, but the Crimson turned a double play to end any further threat in the inning.
- Alagheband tossed scoreless frames in the seventh and eighth, including inducing a double play in the last of the eighth, to keep the Crimson in front with a two-run lead.
- With one out and the bases-loaded in the bottom of the ninth, Colasante took to the mound, producing a foul out and ground out to seal the victory.
Next Up
Harvard will face No. 2 seed Columbia in the winner's side of the bracket tomorrow – Saturday, May 17 – at 4:00 p.m. (ESPN+) on day two of the tournament. The Lions topped No. 3 seed Penn, 4-3, in 10 innings in Friday's second contest.
