Harvard and BC To Meet at Fenway for Beanpot Title

Photo Courtesy of Harvard Athletic Communications.

What: 22nd Annual Baseball Beanpot Championship
When: Tuesday, April 26th at 7 p.m.
Where: Fenway Park, Boston, MA
Coverage: Beginning at 6:45 p.m. on 95.3 FM WHRB and WHRB.org with Bryan Dunmire (play by play), Brendan Roche and Charlie Hobbes (color commentary)

The Teams
Harvard (9-31, 5-11 Ivy): It's been a tough year for Harvard baseball to say the least. The Crimson started with a nine-game losing streak and came out of an arduous road trip of 1 home game in the first 22 of the season well below .500. The Ivy League has gone little better with Harvard 5 games out behind Red Rolfe division leading Dartmouth thanks to a 5-11 mark that places the Crimson squarely at the bottom of the Ancient Eight. With only four games remaining in conference play, an Ivy title is already out of grasp, but Harvard can still be champions with a win at America's Most Beloved Ballpark.
Boston College (14-24, 6-14 ACC): After two wins in Caravelle Resort Tournament to open the season, the Eagles fell somewhat flat, going 4-7 in the state of Florida to round out non-conference play (4-8 if you count a 6-0 shutout at the hands of the split-squad Red Sox, though that hardly seems fair to count). BC had some success as they headed back to New England, but a loss at Dartmouth started a streak where BC has only one once in their last ten tries. That one win came in the Beanpot though and the Eagles will hope that the Beanpot magic that's been at Chestnut Hill all year will snap them out of their current four game snide. At 7.5 games back with 9 conference games remaining, ACC hopes are still technically alive, but it looks like the only way BC can earn a championship this year is for the final leg of the Beanpot Triple Crown.

How They Got Here
Harvard took a no-hitter into the sixth inning as three pitchers combined for a five-hit 1-0 shutout over Massachusetts. Despite outhitting the Minutemen by a count of 10-5, the Crimson could not get on the board until the ninth inning, when Danny Moskovits hit a one-out single to send home baserunner Jack Colton, who had gotten on with a walk and then advanced to second on a sac bunt. Andrew Hatch (2-0), of LSU and Harvard football lore, got credit for the win, going 3 innings with 3 Ks and 4 hits allowed in relief.
Earlier last Wednesday, Boston College saw nine different pitchers combine for 11 Ks and only one run allowed as the Eagles defeated Northeastern 6-1. Nate Bayuk (4-4) picked up the win with his inning in the 6th. After the Eagles (2nd inning) and Huskies (4th inning) traded a run, the Eagles exploded for 5 runs in the 6th to seal the win.

Last Wins in Beanpot
Harvard: 2005 (longest current drought of all 4 schools)
Boston College: 2010

Common Opponents
Common opponents were Bryant, Northeastern and Holy Cross. Harvard is 0-5 against common opponents and Boston College is 2-2.  Harvard has yet to play an ACC opponent this season while Boston College is 0-1 against Ivy teams.