Sophomore hurler Will Keuper, shown here in earlier action, had a disappointing outing against Columbia yesterday, being credited with his second loss of the season after yielding three earned runs in relief. The second-year pitcher has excelled of late, though, earning a save the day before against Penn.

Whether it’s a blowout or a closer affair, the change in the win-loss column is the one figure that counts. For the Crimson, its two games progressed differently, but in the end, both meant the same thing.

Harvard (10-17, 4-4 Ivy), playing against Columbia (15-13, 6-2 Ivy) at O’Donnell Field yesterday, lost both games of its doubleheader with the Lions. In the first game, the Crimson never had a chance, falling behind, 9-0, after three innings and losing in an absolute rout by the score of 24-1 in the seven-inning contest.

In the last leg of the doubleheader, Harvard rebounded early and jumped to a 4-0 lead. But in the late innings, the bullpen faltered and the team fell again, 7-4, for the two-game sweep. The Crimson did not score after the third inning.

“We got our butts kicked,” Harvard coach Joe Walsh said. “They were a good-hitting ballclub today.”

COLUMBIA 7, HARVARD 4

After its trouncing in the first game, Harvard looked to regroup and contend for a series split.

In the first inning, it looked like the Crimson would be able to do just that. After starting pitcher Brent Suter struck out two in the opening frame, Harvard scored three runs—all with two outs—to take an early lead.

“Suter gave us a shot in the arm coming out, and we got the three runs in the first inning that boosted morale pretty well,” Walsh said.

The Crimson added one more in the third on junior Sean O’Hara’s RBI double to push the lead to four, and Suter shut out the Lions through five frames.

In the sixth, though, the Crimson starter seemed to tire, allowing his first runs of the game on a two-run home run from Columbia left fielder Dario Pizzano.

After the game, Walsh revealed that Suter pulled his triceps on the previous play while diving to field a slow grounder that went for an infield single. Suter managed to finish the inning, leaving the game with eight strikeouts and just two runs allowed.

But once the bullpen came into the game in the seventh, Harvard could not maintain its lead for more than a third of an inning.

“We had two or three innings there where we fell apart pitching-wise,” junior captain Tyler Albright said. “We just need to be able to close out games like that.”

After an RBI double from Nick Cox to tie the game, the Lions scored a pair on a Nick Ferraresi bases-clearing double to open up a one-run lead that they would not relinquish.

Sophomore Will Keuper, charged with all three seventh-inning runs, picked up the loss—his second of the season.