Captain Josh Ellis was an Ivy League Honorable Mention last season after slashing .304/.375/.374 in 40 games. The senior will see the lion’s share of his innings behind the plate, but has also played outfield for Harvard. Ellis, Fallon, McColl, and Rothenberg figure to make up four of the top five spots in the Crimson’s batting order.
With the departure of Quinn, the success of the outfield will largely hinge on Harvard’s sophomore class. Trent Bryan and Ben Skinner were regulars for the Crimson last season. Bryan was the team’s starting center fielder while Skinner found his stride during Ivy League play, reaching base in 13 consecutive games and stealing five bases on the season.
Sophomores John MacLean and Patrick Robinson combined for 68 at-bats last season and figure to split time in right field. On an extremely versatile roster, Ellis, Rothenberg, McColl, junior Austin Black, sophomore Dylan Peterson, and freshman Jake Suddleson could also see time in the outfield. While the problem with pitching for Harvard this spring likely will be lack of experience and keeping arms fresh, on offense it will center around forming a lineup for each game that draws from a deep pool of both experience and talent.
“The pitchers have done a really good job of being aggressive, throwing a lot of pitches for strikes, and the hitters at the same time, to their credit, have put some really good swings on the ball, have worked some really good at-bats against quality pitching,” Miller said. “It’s a nice even split, and I think that’s a really good place to be in.”
The Crimson will begin its season in the nation’s capital next weekend with doubleheaders against Lafayette and Coppin State. The team will spend spring break in Florida, playing 10 games in as many days in three different cities.
“All Ivy League teams try to stack the front end of their schedule with some really difficult teams,” Miller said. “The Ivy League teams are surprisingly competitive with the teams they play on the front end. It’s a really good way to prepare for the Ivy League when we get to face some of the top teams down South.”
Games against Army and Holy Cross precede Harvard’s Ivy League opener against Columbia on April 1. The Crimson will take on UMass in the first round of the Beanpot and will face off against either Boston College or Northeastern at Fenway Park on April 19. Harvard hosts Yale April 15 and 16 before closing out its 20-game Ivy League regular season with two home games against Dartmouth on April 30.
The conference’s top two teams on paper—Columbia and Penn—are both in the Lou Gehrig Division, meaning that the Crimson has to face each program only twice during the regular season.
Yale broke Dartmouth’s streak of eight consecutive Red Rolfe Division crowns and returns All-Ivy pitcher Scott Politz. Despite the graduation of Duncan Robinson, Dartmouth looks poised to make another run at the division crown due to its strong pitching staff.
Senior right-hander Christian Taugner is one of the best arms in the conference and leads a Brown team that was tied with Harvard for third in the Red Rolfe Division a season ago. If the Crimson wants to bring home its first division crown since 2006, its largely untested pitchers will need to step up in bigger roles and stay healthy while its offense will have to be consistent throughout conference play, something the team has struggled to do in recent years.
“I think our pitchers are pitching it well,” Hink said. “I think offensively, in my four years here, this is one of the better offensive bubble seasons we’ve had. If we can stay healthy and keep the same mindset we have right now, good things will come.”
—Staff writer Stephen J. Gleason can be reached at stephen.gleason@thecrimson.com.