Quinn’s sacrifice fly in the fourth cancelled out Army’s RBI single in the top of the second, but the Black Knights to retake the lead on a wild pitch in the top of the fifth. In the sixth, an errant throw from Poppen on a bunt allowed the batter to reach second. A single and walk loaded the bases before back-to-back two-run singles extended Harvard’s deficit to 6-1.
Freshman left fielder Trent Bryan hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh, the first four-bagger of his career, but it wasn’t enough as the Crimson’s rally came up just short. Nonetheless, the team’s veterans took notice of the performance of the younger hitters.
“I’m really impressed with the younger guys, coming out playing with energy and being fearless out there,” Sanders said. “You look at guys like Bryan, McColl, Skinner, and they’ve settled into a role quickly in the lineup, and I think they’re going to be guys we can really rely on later in the season.”
ARMY 13, HARVARD 12
The first contest of the series was arguably the most exciting, with the two teams combining for 25 runs and 29 hits before the Black Knights grabbed a walkoff win, 13-12. Klug was the main man offensively, going 5-for-5 with two runs and an RBI.
Harvard’s bats were hot from the start, scoring four runs in the first. Army responded with three in the bottom half of the inning, setting the tone for the game.
“When we had runners in scoring position, we were capitalizing on those opportunities,” Link said. “That’s what you have to do in games where you’re going to put up a lot of runs.”
Fallon’s three-run double in the top of the fourth extended Harvard’s lead to 7-4 before the Crimson scored three more in the fifth to grab a 10-5 advantage.
By the end of the seventh, however, Army had clawed their way back, cutting the lead to 10-9. RBI singles from Bryan and junior catcher Josh Ellis in the top of the eighth seemed to provide ample insurance, but five singles in the bottom of the ninth off of senior Sean O’Neill were enough to propel Army to the victory.
–Staff writer Manav Khandelwal can be reached at manavkhandelwal@college.harvard.edu.