With the Harvard baseball team trailing 6-3 after seven innings in the second game of a crucial doubleheader against Brown Saturday, Crimson ace Ben Crockett trotted back onto the diamond.

On a day when Crockett set Harvard’s single-game strikeout record with 17, his simple return to the mound to begin the eighth may have been his most impressive act.

Crockett’s pitch count had already reached an astronomical 132.

“It’s a tough situation,” Crockett said. “You never really want to give the ball up. You kind of have to balance how you feel with where you are [in the pitch count].”

After struggling in the eighth, Crockett was relieved by senior Mike Dryden with a final pitch count of 140.

“I felt alright, but I was a little tired,” Crockett said. “You just try to win games.”

A high pitch count is nothing new for Crockett. In last weekend’s 8-3 victory over Yale, Crockett struck out 14 Elis, but threw 148 pitches in nine innings.

Fortunately, Crockett hasn’t felt the wear on his arm.

“He stays strong,” said freshman Schuyler Mann, who has caught each of Crockett’s starts this season. “He wasn’t really throwing as hard in the last inning [on Saturday], but when he needs to, he can pump himself up and throw just as hard.”

Crockett showed his endurance by striking out the side in the seventh with a pitch count hovering around 120.

However, as sexy as strikeouts are, they aren’t as efficent as ground balls when it comes to getting batters out. Crockett didn’t retire a single batter on a ground ball, which is unusual for the ace and could explain why he was roughed up for 12 hits.

“I think I was up a little bit off and on with the fastball, and I got hit a little bit on breaking stuff I left up early in the count,” Crockett said.

Trey Magnifique

With the Crimson one game up on Brown in the Red Rolfe division standings and the Bears in town for a pivotal four-game set, Harvard needed a spark to set the tone for the weekend.

Sophomore first baseman Trey Hendricks obliged.