As a senior at Archbishop Hanna High School in Chalmette, La., San Salvador’s pure swing generated 12 homers and 40 RBI. When he came to Harvard, his natural power stroke impressed right away. Walsh used him at designated hitter and plugged him into the three-hole to begin his freshman season.
Over the course of the next two years, San Salvador bounced around the infield. Originally a shortstop, San Salvador was also used at third base and second.
Then, in the final weeks of 2000, senior first baseman Eric Binkowski went down and San Salvador moved in to fill his spot. He quickly hit homers in back-to-back games and the job became his. Though he continues to provide flexibility on defense—last year, he saw time at all four infield positions—first base has become his de-facto home.
“At first base, he’s done a great job,” senior Ben Crockett said. “He came in as a shortstop, and played second and first for us, so that shows you what a good fielder he is. It gives you a lot of confidence [having him at first].”
In addition to his defense, San Salvador has swung a hot bat since returning to Harvard’s lineup. In six games, he is hitting .313 with five RBI. Four of his five hits have gone for extra bases, including a pair of monster doubles at Dartmouth on Sunday that might have cleared the fences at O’Donnell Field.
“He’s been tremendous over [at first],” Crockett said. “[Sophomore] Trey Hendricks did a great job for us, but to be able to have both of their bats in the lineup is just a huge boost. Sanzo has just come back on fire.”
The Crimson was never more blessed to have San Salvador back than in its series finale against Brown. San Salvador ignited Harvard’s rally from a seven-run deficit, then guessed right on a slider from Brown reliever Dan Spring in the bottom of the ninth to win the game.
“That’s definitely my number one memory now,” San Salvador said. “I hadn’t hit a walk-off homer since high school.”
After failing to pull out what would have been the Red Rolfe Division clincher in its season finale against Dartmouth last weekend, Harvard will face Brown once more today with even more on the line than last time.
“We’re ready,” San Salvador said. “We work so hard all year long and this is the chance for it to pay off.
“This is the closest team I’ve played on,” he added. “We’ve got lots of senior leadership, and that has filtered down to the rest of the team. Hopefully things will turn out well.”
Today’s game could mean another date with destiny for San Salvador. So, if you notice a hitch in his step as he runs out to his position, know that it’s probably not a limp, but a skip.