But yes, there is in the end that deadly hammer—the one which the Big Red could not once touch.

“He drops that curveball over when he’s behind in the count, and if you can do that you’re a quality pitcher,” Walsh said. “I was watching that Texas-Nebraska game for 14 innings, and they didn’t have a guy who could throw a breaking ball when they were behind in the count. We do.”

CLOSER-A-DAY

So what does this mean, ultimately, for the other candidates once considered for the part of Crimson relief ace?

The bullpen picture, while clarified some thanks to this weekend, still remains admittedly complicated.

While Wilson will definitely be featured to close in the weekend double-headers, freshman starter Shawn Haviland may also see time in those crucial eighth and ninth frames.

If Wilson had been needed in the first game of Saturday’s double-header against Cornell, Walsh said, it actually would have been Haviland—Sunday’s game two starter against Princeton—who toed the rubber in the eighth.

That strategy of closing on Saturday and starting on Sunday is by no means unfamiliar to Harvard, which sought to maximize the arm of former captain Trey Hendricks ’04 in exactly that role last season, especially down the Ivy stretch run.

But then again, Walsh said, “if I had brought [junior pitcher Javy] Castellanos in [for middle relief], and he pitched well, I would have let him sail.”

And what, then, about Matt Brunnig, who had served as closer early this year in non-Ivy play?

Plan on seeing the lanky, ambidextrous junior solely in the starting rotation. While Brunnig currently leads Harvard with four saves so far this season, the total should not get much larger.

“We used him there to keep his innings down to get him ready for Ivy League play,” Walsh said.

“He’s been a starter for us in the past and that’s what he is,” he added. “He’s been a very effective guy for us in the pen, but we want to get him to the mound more often on the weekend. We see him picking up the ball once a week.”

WHAT SALSGIVETH