But then arrived freshman Shawn Haviland (7-1, 2.85). And the new, improved version of junior Frank Herrmann (5-1, 3.09). And a rejuvenated senior presence in Morgalis (5-0, 3.53).
Not to mention Ivy Rookie of the Year Steffan Wilson, who—besides moonlighting as a first-team All-Ivy third baseman—stepped in as a second-team All-Ivy closer, as well, setting the school record for saves with six.
“Pitching’s key,” Herrmann said. “No one thought our pitching would be our strong suit coming into this year, but pitching’s carried us, especially early on in the Ivy season.”
Offensively speaking, the Crimson ranked first or second in literally every statistical category, stealing 84 bases and batting .299 as a team.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was paced by the usual suspects at the plate.
Junior and 2004 Red Sox draftee Zak Farkes overcame an early shoulder injury to lead the way by hitting .359, while captain catcher Sky Mann—who led the team in RBI with 43—tied fellow first-teamer Farkes for the school home run-record in his final season in Cambridge.
A finally healthy Josh Klimkiewicz, meanwhile, joined the race by crushing nine four-baggers, tied for the team lead with Mann. And yet another freshman, centerfielder Matt Vance, paced Harvard with 15 steals and 40 runs scored.
The Crimson ultimately edged out potent upstart Brown for the Red Rolfe Division title, and then swept Cornell—which felled usual power Princeton in the Lou Gehrig Division—in a dominant Ivy Championship Series.
But still, of course, there is the bittersweet taste of the NCAA tournament which necessarily lingers.
“I’m just disappointed we didn’t play up to our capabilities,” Walsh summarized. “But at the same time it was a pretty good season.”
In Ivy League baseball—a crazy, topsy-turvy world with uncompromising academic standards and zero athletic scholarships—no team gets the luxury to skip ahead to the so-called Road to Omaha and the College World Series.
The path in the Ancient Eight is colder, among other things, and infinitely less glamorous.
In 2005, Harvard’s biggest honor might be that it walked that road less traveled better than all others.
ESPN or not, that is always something to be proud of.
—Staff writer Pablo S. Torre can be reached at torre@fas.harvard.edu.