Three stalwarts have recently dominated the Ivy League in recent years: Dartmouth, Penn, and Harvard. The championship has been between the Big Green and the Quakers each of the past two years. However, this year, the consensus is that the Ancient Eight as a whole has improved.

“Going into Ivy League [play], you have to treat every team as the same, you have to play at your own level every game,” Groom said. “Dartmouth and us have recently been the best in the North and Penn in the South. A lot of teams this year are better than they used to be, so it’s a lot more of an even playing ground."

With the weather beginning to heat up, so are the bats of the Crimson. If it can get its pitching and fielding up to the same level, the team believes it has a chance to win plenty of games.

“When we get all three of those things going, the results are going to be amazing,” Groom said.
Because of this increase in competition, Harvard feels like it is still in the thick of the championship hunt, despite having to play catch up.

“Honestly, the conference this year is anybody’s game,” Appelbe said. “The next 16 games, we are fighting every inning to win every pitch.”

—Staff writer Jacob W. Lynch can be reached at jacoblynch@gmail.com.