Penn’s ANDREW McCREERY (17) slides safely past Harvard’s FAIZ SHAKIR at second base.

After sophomore Bryan Hale jacked a Brian Doveala pitch over the 370-foot sign in right center field in the nightcap of yesterday’s Ivy League doubleheader, solid pitching by sophomore Trey Hendricks make the resulting lead stand up. That combination of timely hitting and clutch pitching was atypical of the weekend.

Plagued by subpar pitching and a lack of hits in key spots, the Harvard baseball team went 1-3 in its first home games of the season. The Crimson dropped both games of a doubleheader to Penn on Saturday before losing to Columbia in yesterday’s opener. Harvard was able to salvage the nightcap with a 10-6 win over the Lions.

The three losses were surprising given that Harvard (8-16, 5-3 Ivy) pushed 28 runs across in four games—this from a team that has struggled at the plate for much of the season.

“We scored 11 runs, but we needed the timely hitting,” senior outfielder Javy Lopez said. “We need a box score that reads something like, ‘five runs, five hits, no errors.’ Because you can tell that those came in key situations.”

Despite the onslaught of hits, Harvard Coach Joe Walsh said that the bats are not yet where he would like them.

“We’re struggling offensively,” Walsh said. “We have to score more runs than the other team. Don’t go by number of hits. It’s how we look at the plate, the line drives. They’re not there yet.”

The team will play in the annual Beanpot Tournament tomorrow at 11 a.m. at Fenway. Walsh said he planned on pitching a combination of seniors Mike Dryden and Nick Carter

“We’ve got to come right back for that one,” Lopez said. “It’s something the seniors have never won.”

Harvard 10, Columbia 6

With the continued absence of sophomore Mark Hordon due to a broken hand and the high number of pitches junior Barry Wahlberg had thrown in two previous games, Walsh hoped to get a solid outing from senior Chaney Sheffield. Sheffield (1-1), who has seen a lot of time in the outfield this year, had been sidelined the previous two weeks with a pulled hamstring.

Sheffield did not let Walsh down. After surrendering a two-run bomb to Columbia catcher Joe Catsam—his second of the day—in the first inning, Chaney settled down and left in the middle of the seventh with a 7-5 lead.

“He went out there today, kept that team off balance, gave us a chance to come back in the ball game,” Walsh said.

But despite the gritty effort from Sheffield, the Lions (15-14, 5-2) still led early. Harvard had a golden opportunity when senior left fielder Javy Lopez was hit by a Daveola pitch with two men on and one out.

The pitch went off Lopez’ hand, ricocheted into his mouth and knocked him flat on his back. Lopez—who suffered a traumatic eye injury during his freshman year that sidelined him for a season—spent a few uneasy moments on the ground before trotting to first to load the bases.

But senior second baseman Faiz Shakir and sophomore infielder Mickey Kropf popped up in consecutive at-bats to end the threat.