Erratic offense and some untimely errors plagued the Harvard baseball team at the Homestead Challenge in Florida last week. Playing 11 games in eight days, the Crimson posted a 3-8 record against some tough competition, bringing its overall record to 3-11.

“It was a learning experience for the team,” captain Ben Crockett said. “There were a lot of positives to be taken from the trip. In general, our pitching and defense were pretty solid. The hitters have really come along, especially since we faced some of the top pitchers around.”

Harvard travels to Kingston, R.I. on Wednesday to face URI in the first of four upcoming road games.

Lafayette 5, Harvard 1

Lafayette catcher Craig Alexander had three hits and caught Marcus Ward’s second complete game of the year as the Leopalds rolled over the Crimson, 5-1. Ward struck out 10 and scattered Harvard’s five hits over five innings.

The Crimson jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the second when sophomore DH Trey Hendricks hit his second home run of the year. But the lead vanished in the fourth inning when senior third baseman Nick Carter committed a throwing error, leading to an unearned run that tied the score at 1-1. Lafayette added one more run in the inning to take the lead for good.

Senior hurler Justin Nyweide dropped to 1-2 on the year despite striking out 11 Leopards in eight innings.

Harvard 10, Lafayette 3

Last Thursday, the Crimson earned its third victory of the year with a strong offensive showing, breaking open the game with seven runs in the sixth inning.

With Harvard trailing 3-2 with one out, clean-up hitter Schuyler Mann began a string of five straight hits that plated three quick runs for the Crimson, giving it a 5-3 lead.

After a dropped fly ball off the bat of senior Faiz Shakir allowed another run, senior Chaney Sheffield singled down the left field line to plate two more.

Crockett (1-1) took full advantage of the ample run support, overcoming some fielding miscues in the fifth inning that led to three unearned runs. Crockett struck out nine in seven strong innings, winning his first game of the year and lowering his ERA to 1.54.

Harvard 6, Saint Thomas 2

Junior Madhu Satyanarayana (1-1) posted his first win of the year last Wednesday, allowing one earned run in a complete-game effort. Satyanarayana struck out eight Bobcats and walked none in the victory.

Down 1-0 after one frame, the Crimson immediately made up for a Shakir error that led to the unearned Bobcat run. Sophomore Marc Hordon doubled in Sheffield in the bottom of the first to tie the game.