In addition to pitching three stellar innings of relief—allowing no hits, no runs, and only one walk while posting seven strikeouts for his first save of the season—Salsgiver made an astounding catch in right field on a blast from C.J. Orrico in the fourth inning.

Had he let that ball drop, Yale would have extended its 1-0 lead by at least two runs.

“If that ball falls, [Orrico is] on third, two runs come in,” Walsh said. “You get a game like this, that had so many little ins and outs, pitching changes, and four hours or so of play, that catch kept us in the ballgame.”

Junior Matt Brunnig (2-1) earned the win in two innings of relief.

YALE 7, HARVARD 4

So close, yet so far.

Brown’s right-field blast with two on and two out in the bottom of the sixth inning soared through the cloudless blue sky, cutting through the air with velocity and momentum. But both the ball and Harvard’s dreams of a comeback fell just short of the target.

Had Brown’s shot traveled a few feet further, the Crimson—who then trailed 6-4—would have taken the lead with an opportunity to secure the victory in the ensuing half-inning.

Instead, Harvard succumbed to the Bulldogs 7-4 in Game 1 of Sunday’s doubleheader, unable to recover from a first inning that saw Yale plate four runs against Crimson starter Jake Bruton.

“We were disappointed,” Walsh said. “Bing bang boom, and all of a sudden it’s 4-0. It kind of sets a tone like this isn’t our day.”

Harvard’s loss overshadowed an excellent outing by junior pitcher Javier Castellanos. After the Bulldogs chased Bruton with an RBI single by Marc Sawyer and a three-run home run Janco, Castellanos filled in on short notice.

“I didn’t get very many [warmup] pitches,” Castellanos said, “but I just wanted to get us [off the field] to get the guys in the dugout a chance to hit.”

And that he did. Castellanos allowed only three runs on three hits and three walks over six and a third innings, giving Harvard a chance to attempt to mount a comeback.

Despite getting on base early in the game, the Crimson did not score until the fourth inning, when Wilson smashed one of his three hits to right field to plate Salsgiver from second base to put Harvard on the board.

Although Castellanos allowed an RBI double to Jake Doyle in the top of the fifth to put Yale ahead 6-1, Harvard tallied three more runs in the bottom of the inning.