NEW HAVEN, Conn. – No. 4 seed Harvard University baseball rallied for an 8-6 win over No. 1 seed Yale University in its opening game of the day before falling to No. 2 seed Columbia, 14-6, to close its run at the 2025 Ivy League Tournament on Sunday afternoon at George H.W. Bush Field.
The Crimson (14-28) came back from deficits of 4-0 and 6-5 to beat the top-seeded Bulldogs (31-14) in an elimination game before the Lions (27-17) captured the final game of the weekend to win the tournament title and earn the league's automatic berth in the NCAA tournament. Harvard went 2-0 against Yale on the weekend after defeating the Bulldogs, 3-1, on Friday.
In game one at the plate, seniors
George Cooper,
William Lybrook, and
Sawyer Feller, junior
Gio Colasante, and sophomore
Tyler Shulman each registered two hits with Feller posting the go-ahead two-run single in the bottom of the eighth. Sophomore
Jack Rickheim added two RBIs, while senior
Matt Giberti, first-year
Liam Wilson, and sophomore
Ryan Mooney chipped in an RBI apiece.
In the opener on the mound, first-year left-hander
Charley Bergsma (1.2 innings, one run) earned his first collegiate win while sophomore right-hander
Ryan McHugh captured his fourth save of the year after tossing a 1-2-3 top of the ninth. Junior left-hander
Brian Dowling gave up just one earned run in the start, and senior right-hander
Cole Cleary allowed just one run over 2.2 innings.
In game two, Colasante went 2-for-4 with his 10
th home run of the year, an RBI, and two runs scored as a batter while tossing a scoreless ninth with two strikeouts as a pitcher. Senior
George Cooper finished 2-for-5, including a hit in his final collegiate at bat in the top of the ninth. Colasante and Cooper each hit .412 (7-for-17) on the weekend.
Harvard landed three student-athletes – Colasante, sophomore right-handed pitcher
Truman Pauley, and junior right-handed pitcher
Callan Fang – on the Ivy League Tournament All-Tournament Team. For the tournament, Colasante hit .412 (7-for-17) with six RBIs and two homers at the plate, while throwing 2.1 innings over three appearances as a pitcher with a save and four strikeouts. Pauley threw a career-high 9.0 innings with a tournament-record and career-best 13 strikeouts on Saturday against Columbia, allowing just one unearned run on five hits and two walks. Fang tossed 6.0 innings in Friday's win over Yale, allowing one run on two hits and two walks with four strikeouts.
Game 1: No. 4 Seed Harvard 8, No. 1 Seed Yale 6
Five members of the Crimson posted two hits, the Crimson's pitching staff permitted just three earned runs, and No. 4 seed Harvard twice rallied from deficits to top No. 1 seed Yale, 8-6, in an elimination game on day three of the 2025 Ivy League Tournament.
Facing a 4-0 deficit, the Crimson scored five straight runs to take a 5-4 lead in the ninth, and after the Bulldogs took a 6-5 lead in the top of the eighth, Harvard responded with three runs in the bottom of the eighth to re-take the advantage.
Harvard beat the tournament's top seed for the second time on the weekend after the Crimson beat the Bulldogs, 3-1, on Friday in the tournament's opening game.
At the plate, seniors
George Cooper,
William Lybrook, and
Sawyer Feller, junior
Gio Colasante, and sophomore
Tyler Shulman each registered two hits with Feller posting the go-ahead two-run single in the bottom of the eighth. Sophomore
Jack Rickheim added two RBIs, while senior
Matt Giberti, first-year
Liam Wilson, and sophomore
Ryan Mooney chipped in an RBI apiece.
On the mound, first-year left-hander
Charley Bergsma (1.2 innings, one run) earned his first collegiate win while sophomore right-hander
Ryan McHugh captured his fourth save of the year after tossing a 1-2-3 top of the ninth. Junior left-hander
Brian Dowling gave up just one earned run in the start, and senior right-hander
Cole Cleary allowed just one run over 2.2 innings.
Gallery: (5-18-2025) Baseball: Ivy Tournament - Game 3
Harvard Highlights
- Senior George Cooper went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. He now has 190 career hits, moving into sixth place in program history.
- Sophomore Jack Rickheim notched two RBIs, a double, and a run.
- Junior Gio Colasante finished 2-for-4 with an RBI, a run, and a stolen base.
- Sophomore Tyler Shulman posted a 2-for-4 effort with a double and a run.
- Senior William Lybrook registered a 2-for-4 game with a run.
- Senior Sawyer Feller recorded a 2-for-4 showing with two RBIs, a double, and a run. His two-run single in the eighth gave Harvard back a lead that it would not relinquish.
- First-year Liam Wilson contributed a double, an RBI, a run, and a walk.
- Sophomore Ryan Mooney proved an RBI single in the eighth.
- Senior Matt Giberti added an RBI.
- First-year left-hander Charley Bergsma earned his first collegiate win, tossing 1.2 innings in relief and allowing one run on two hits and no walks.
- Sophomore right-hander Ryan McHugh earned his fourth save of the season, tossing a 1-2-3 top of the ninth inning.
- Senior right-hander Cole Cleary hurled 2.2 innings in relief, allowing just one run on two hits and two walks with one strikeout.
- Junior left-hander Brian Dowling threw 3.2 innings in the start, giving up four runs – one earned – on five hits and no walks.
- As a team, Harvard totaled 13 hits, marking its 14th game this year with double-figure hits. Five members of the Crimson posted multi-hit games in the contest, and eight players had at least one hit.
- The Crimson's pitching staff permitted just three earned runs and two walks.
How It Happened
- Yale opened the game's scoring with a solo home run to left field in the top of the first.
- The Bulldogs then plated three runs in the top of the second to move ahead 4-0.
- Harvard answered in the bottom of the second as Shulman put himself in scoring position with a double before Wilson brought him home with an RBI double to left field to trim the deficit to 4-1.
- The Crimson pulled within 4-2 in the last of the fourth behind an RBI single to right center from Colasante.
- Harvard claimed a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the fifth with three runs in the frame. Rickheim sent a two-run double down the left field line to plate the stanza's first two runs before a sacrifice fly from Giberti gave the Crimson its first lead of the game.
- The Bulldogs knotted the score at 5-5 with a run in the top of the seventh before Bergsma induced a double play to get out of the jam.
- Yale moved ahead, 6-5, with a run following a wild pitch in the top of the eighth.
- Harvard countered in the bottom of the eighth, scoring three times to pull ahead 8-6. After the Crimson loaded the bases with singles from Cooper and Colasante and an intentional walk to Wilson, Feller sent a two-out, two-run single into left field to give Harvard a 7-6 edge. Mooney then placed an RBI single into center field to extend the lead to 8-6.
- McHugh then came on for the top of the ninth, throwing a 1-2-3 ninth to earn the save.
Game 2: No. 2 Seed Columbia 14, No. 4 Seed Harvard 6
Junior
Gio Colasante hit his second home run of the tournament, and the Crimson tallied double-figure hits for the second straight game, but No. 4 seed Harvard fell to No. 2 seed Columbia, 14-6, in its fourth and final game of the 2025 Ivy League Tournament.
The Crimson tallied six of the game's final 10 runs, but the designated visitors could not come back after the Lions opened the contest with a 10-0 lead through three innings.
Colasante went 2-for-4 with his 10
th home run of the year, an RBI, and two runs scored as a batter while tossing a scoreless ninth with two strikeouts as a pitcher. Senior
George Cooper finished 2-for-5, including a hit in his final collegiate at bat in the top of the ninth. Colasante and Cooper each hit .412 (7-for-17) on the weekend.
On Saturday, the Crimson dropped a narrow 4-1 decision to the Lions in 10 innings.
Gallery: (5-18-2025) Baseball: Ivy Tournament - Game 4
Harvard Highlights
- Junior Gio Colasante went 2-for-4 with a home run, an RBI, and two runs scored as a batter while tossing a scoreless ninth with two strikeouts as a pitcher. He posted his second home run of the tournament and his 10th homer of the year. For the tournament, he hit .412 (7-for-17) with six RBIs and two homers at the plate, while throwing 2.1 innings over three appearances as a pitcher with a save and four strikeouts.
- Senior George Cooper finished 2-for-5, including a hit in his final collegiate at bat in the top of the ninth. He hit .412 (7-for-17) for the tournament with three runs. For his career, he totaled 192 career hits, ranking sixth in program history. Cooper hit .350 on the season.
- Senior Sawyer Feller posted a 2-for-3 effort with an RBI, a run, and a walk.
- First-year Gavin Smith went 2-for-3 with a run as a pinch hitter.
- Sophomore Jack Rickheim and first-year Liam Wilson each notched a hit and an RBI.
- Senior William Lybrook tallied a hit, a run, and a walk.
- Sophomore Tyler Shulman added a hit and a run.
- As a team, Harvard totaled 12 hits, marking its 15th game this year with double-figure hits. Four members of the Crimson registered multiple hits in the game. The Crimson posted double-digit hits in both of Sunday's games.
How It Happened
- Columbia opened the game's scoring with a groundout in the bottom of the first.
- The Lions moved their margin to 3-0 in the bottom of the second behind a two-run home run.
- Columbia plated seven runs in the last of the third to move ahead, 10-0. Columbia hit four home runs in the frame.
- Colasante hit his second home run of the tournament and 10th homer of the season with a solo shot to center field in the top of the fourth to make the margin 10-1.
- The Lions added a solo homer in the bottom of the fourth to make the score 11-1.
- A sacrifice fly from Rickheim brought the difference to 11-2 in the top of the fifth.
- Harvard scored a pair of runs in the top of the sixth to trim the deficit to 11-4. After Wilson hit an RBI single to left field, Feller brought in a run with a groundout.
- Columbia tacked on three runs in the bottom of the seventh, including a two-run homer, to bring the score to 14-4.
- In the bottom of the ninth, Harvard plated a pair of runs with one coming home following an error and the second coming after a double play.
