Katherine Harris

Senior Writer

The men’s baseball team played two games against Harvard and two against No. 19 Virginia last weekend, and recorded its first win of the season against Harvard with a 7-4 victory on March 3. The Bison fell to Harvard 2-1 in extra innings on March 1, and dropped both games against Virginia 12-4 and 9-1.

“We pitchers are focused on what we can control which is keeping runners from getting on base and scoring, and we’ve had some success so far. The win we got this weekend helps our confidence in that we know we can put all the pieces together and win a game,” pitcher Bryson Hough ’15 said.

Hough started off the weekend by logging seven strong innings on the mound, allowing only six hits and one run against Harvard. But the Bison offense could only manage one run in support of Hough, thanks to a sacrifice fly by Rob Krentzman ’15 in the eighth inning. The team pushed the 1-1 tie to extra innings, but ultimately fell short of victory.

The Orange and Blue faced off against Virginia the next day. Despite the loss, the team improved offensively and seven different players recorded hits, with Jon Mayer ’16 leading the way with a two-run double and Corey Furman ’14 scoring after hitting a triple.

“This weekend was a great experience for the team. We saw some great competition and are getting closer to where we need to be … I think if we can limit the number of big innings when on defense then that would help solve a lot of our problems,” pitcher Max Kra ’16 said.  

The Bison came back with a vengeance against Harvard, and their strong effort resulted in their first win of the season. Furman once again had a strong offensive performance with a two-run home run, while Travis Clark ’13 and Robb Scott ’13 both had two doubles apiece. Dan Goldstein ’13 started the day on the mound and struck out six in seven innings, while Kra posted his first career save in the final two innings.

“The win against Harvard really was good for the team … It really lifted the team’s spirit and took some weight off our shoulders,” right fielder Matt Busch ’13 said.  

The Orange and Blue finished off their weekend against Virginia, but were unable to keep their momentum from the earlier game going in the loss. Krentzman and Busch led the offense with two hits apiece, with Krentzman driving in the only run for the Bison with an RBI single in the first inning. On the mound, six different pitchers stepped up for the team to gain some experience.

The Bison will leave for their Spring Break trip to Florida this weekend, starting off their seven-game trip against North Dakota State.