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BOSTON — The Harvard baseball team (11-23, 8-9 Ivy) fell to the Northeastern Huskies (34-9, 16-2 CAA) by a score of 4-5 at Fenway Park in a heartbreaking loss, bringing its record in Beanpot Tournament final to 4-10 all time.

After trailing 5-1 for most of the contest, Harvard rallied with three runs in the top of the ninth, cutting the deficit to one with just one out, courtesy of a wild pitch and a two-RBI single from sophomore Tyler Shulman.

With a rowdy crowd behind the visiting dugout, the Crimson rattled Northeastern pitcher Brett Dunham. However, Dunham struck out freshman catcher Liam Wilson in a tense at-bat and a lineout to third base from junior Jordan Kang ended the game as the Huskies stormed the field.

For the first time since 2019, the Beanpot was played at Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox since 1912. The stadium has seen some of baseball’s biggest moments of the past century, and for players on the team, the experience will be remembered for years to come.

“It’s so special, I think Fenway Park is probably one of the nicest stadiums in America,” said Shulman after the game. “Really cool opportunity for all of us people to come out here and play.”

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The game was defined by strong defensive performances by both teams, with electric plays in the outfield all night that limited offensive potential across the board.

Junior Brian Dowling started on the mound for the Crimson, throwing 4.1 innings in his fourth start this season. The junior lefty allowed four hits and five earned runs in his second start of the Beanpot Tournament.

Northeastern starter Max Gitlin pitched a solid game of his own, allowing two hits and giving up one earned run in 5.2 innings, minimizing his pitch count throughout the start.

After a quick first inning, the Crimson opened the scoring with a solo home run by Shulman that flew just to the left of Pesky’s Pole in right field. The Huskies quickly followed suit with an RBI double by Alex Lane to even the score at 1-1 after two.

That score held strong until the bottom of the fifth inning when Lane had his second RBI double of the night to start a barrage of offense for Northeastern. Three hits and three walks in the frame, and situational batting helped open a 5-1 lead for the Huskies.

The advantage stayed steady at 5-1 until the top of the ninth, when Harvard strung together several quality plate appearances to load the bases with one out. After a passed ball brought in one run to cut the lead to three, Shulman hit a two-RBI single through the middle to bring the Crimson within one run.

The loss brings the all-time record in the Beanpot for Harvard to 22-39-1, with a 7-11 record against the Huskies. All time, the Crimson are 69-50-1 against the squad from Brookline.

Looking ahead, Harvard hopes to stay hot in Ivy play as it faces the Columbia Lions at home this weekend in the final regular season series of the year. The Crimson currently sits in fourth place in the league, a half game ahead of Dartmouth (8-10 Ivy) for the fourth and final spot in the Ivy League tournament that starts May 16th.

“We have a couple days here to get ready for Columbia,” said Head Coach Bill Decker. “But, you know, I got faith in our group. I think we’ve come together here at the end of the year.”