The Crimson went 1-1 in its doubleheader against the Tigers and continued the trend, splitting matchups against five of its seven Ancient Eight opponents.
Despite the constant splits, Harvard’s contention for a spot in the Ivy League Championship series came down to its final four-game series against Dartmouth. The Crimson swept the Big Green at O’Donnell Field in the first twinbill with strong pitching by Eadington and Suter and powerful hitting by the majority of the lineup.
But despite continued success at bat, Harvard failed to put all of the pieces together the next day in Hanover, N.H., and its opponent clinched the division title again.
“We took the Ivy League down to that last day against Dartmouth, and if we gotten those two more wins we would have won our side,” Albright said. “We had really started to hit well at the end.”
Sophomores Jeff Reynolds and Way and freshman Kyle Larrow emerged as offensive powerhouses for the Crimson, while juniors Albright, Dillon O’Neill, and Sean O’Hara maintained consistent excellence at the plate.
“O’Hara had a solid season as always, and a lot of our success is a tribute to Albright and his leadership,” Walsh said.
One of only three seniors on the team, Dan Zailskas also provided steady hitting all season along with a solid presence at first base throughout his career.
“He’s one of those guys that likes to go all out, and even with an injured hamstring he had a great season offensively and defensively,” Walsh said.
Fellow fourth-years were also limited by injuries, but returned to help Harvard late in the season.
Chris Rouches overcame a broken hand to contribute an .833 average with runners in scoring position, while Jonathan Strangio battled what could have been a career-ending injury to throw over three innings of one-run relief in the last game of the season.
“We of course wanted to be able to use them more, and we’ll miss all of them,” Albright said of the seniors.
But with most of the Crimson’s lineup returning next year, the team’s outlook is optimistic.
“I wish it were next season already,” Walsh said.
—Staff writer Madeleine Smith can be reached at smith21@college.harvard.edu.