Junior Sam Franklin, shown here in action from Sunday’s twinbill against Brown, had an impressive day at the plate. He hit 5-8 and led the team with seven RBI. The Crimson took both games from the Bears yesterday in a doubleheader that was pushed back due to Saturday’s rains.

Just a day after surrendering 17 runs to Brown, the Harvard pitching staff stepped up its game and allowed only two in a rescheduled doubleheader Monday at O’Donnell Field.

The Crimson (13-20, 6-6 Ivy) returned its conference record to .500 and kept pace with division leader Dartmouth with the two wins over the Bears (11-22, 8-4). Harvard pitchers were the highlight of the afternoon, consistently throwing strikes while effectively keeping Brown runners off of the base paths.

“We needed this sweep, especially after yesterday,” Crimson coach Joe Walsh said. “We avoided our nemesis: the base on balls.”

The Harvard bats also came alive for 15 runs after scoring only four during the Bears’ sweep on Sunday.

“We just had everything: good pitching, timely hitting, and solid defense up the middle,” Walsh said.

HARVARD 9, BROWN 0

Junior Max Perlman and freshman Andrew Ferreira combined to shut out Brown and hold the Bears to five hits in the second game of the twin bill.

Perlman pitched four shutout innings, and gave up four hits and struck out four Brown batters, but was pulled early because the coaching staff had him on a strict pitch count.

Ferreira, who came in from the bullpen to start the fifth, used a sharp curveball to fool the Bears’ hitters, and threw four perfect innings before giving up a single in the ninth. His efforts earned him his first win of the season.

“Some of the guys in the dugout were saying they hadn’t seen a curveball like that since [San Francisco Giants pitcher Barry] Zito, who I had in the Cape League for a couple of years,” Walsh said.

Like the first game, the Crimson offense started up early, scoring two runs in the first inning. Following a walk to junior Sean O’Hara and a double by junior captain Tyler Albright, junior Sam Franklin singled to right, plating two.

Harvard put three more on the board in the third inning to extend its lead to five. With a runner on second, Albright hit a single up the middle, scoring O’Hara. Franklin then singled, plating Albright before reaching home himself on a sacrifice fly by classmate Dillon O’Neill. Franklin led the Crimson hitters with seven RBI’s while hitting 5-8 on the day.

“I thought our hitters were aggressive out there, and then they were taking pitches at the right time,” Walsh said.

Albright hit 3-5 and scored twice while adding on an RBI, and O’Hara scored and walked twice while hitting 1-3.

HARVARD 6, BROWN 2