When junior Brett Vankoski led off the sixth inning against MIT yesterday, a spectacular rolling catch by leftfielder Kevin McKenny excised him of extra bases.
Eight batters later in the same inning, Vankoski again stepped up to the plate. Five of those eight batters had crossed the plate, and now the bases were loaded.
This time, Vankoski doubled to left field, and two more runs scored. It was Harvard's ninth consecutive hit.
In its final game at Soldiers' Field, the Crimson (23-11, 14-2 Ivy) set modern records for hits (31) and runs (27) in its 27-5 rout of MIT.
"The warm weather yesterday brought the bats out," Harvard coach Joe Walsh said. "We were going the other way with pitches. We had a lot of extra-base hits."
Vankoski's double in the sixth was one of eight Harvard two-baggers. Junior Andrew Huling had an RBI triple and a three-run homer. Senior Mike Hochanadel also homered for the Crimson.
Huling went 5-for-7 on the day, scored five runs, and drove in six. However, Walsh said that "[yesterday's performance] is only a portion of what he can do.
"He's been a big surprise for us. Last year, he was a freshman player who was learning. He's really established himself at the three-hole, and he's a big part of our offense. That three-run homer was well-hit."
Huling paced a balanced Crimson attack, with twelve other players collecting hits.
Carey (a perfect 5-for-5 with three runs) and Hochanadel (2-for-2 with two runs) each drove in four runs. Junior David Forst went 4-for-6, and Vankoski was 3-for-5 with three RBIs.
"Harvard was hitting it where we weren't," MIT coach Mac Singleton said. "They scattered them anywhere and everywhere they wanted."
The Crimson struck for six runs on seven hits in the first, aided by two stolen bases and a throwing error. Harvard extended its lead to 8-0 in the second inning.
However, the Engineers (15-11, 12-3 CAC) showed some offensive prowess of their own in the third. MIT rallied for four runs on a three-run homer by sophomore Joel Morales and a solo shot by freshman David Piho.
Shaving the deficit even further, junior Baldemar Mejia sacrificed home a run to make it 8-5 in the fourth.
But four successive Harvard relievers shut down the Engineers over the last five innings.
Meanwhile, the offense scored two runs in both the fourth and fifth innings and blew the game open with the eight-run deluge in the sixth.
Harvard was not done, however.
On the first pitch from Morales, Hochanadel homered with two on and two out in the bottom of the eighth. Consecutive doubles by Forst and sophomore Jason Keck scored another run. Two batters later, Huling homered to drive in the final three Crimson runs in Soldiers' Field.
On Sunday, Soldiers' Field will change its name to O'Donnell Field, in honor of Joe O'Donnell '67, a former Harvard football and baseball letter-earner.
The Crimson will play a doubleheader at Dartmouth on Saturday, and will host the Big Green at O'Donnell Field on Sunday. Harvard leads Yale (12-4) by two games and Dartmouth (11-5) by three in the Red Rolfe Division.
That means a split this weekend will seal the division title for Harvard.
"If we throw two pitches for strikes, get the running game going, and play good defense, we'll do all right," Walsh said. HR: M.I.T.--Morales, Piho; Harvard--Huling, Hochanadel. 3B: M.I.T.--None; Harvard--Huling. 2B: M.I.T.--None; Harvard--Forst 3, Keck, Albers, Vankoski, Carey, Larocque. E: M.I.T.--Rivas, Gallagher, Batra; Harvard--None. WP: Giampaolo (1-0); LP: Nielsen (3-2).
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