Wolverines Outlast Harvard in Ten Innings, 9-8

In a wild and wooly affair in Cambridge, MA, the Wolverines overcame five errors in the first four innings, but came back and played errorless ball over the next six to beat the Crimson of Harvard, 9-8 in ten innings. BA drew first blood in the top of the second as Nathan Cook (Riverside, SC) launched a 2-0 fastball high over the 370 mark in left field to make the score 1-0. The Wolverines added four more in the third, but shoddy infield defense let Harvard tie the score at 6-6 after four innings. BA came back in the fifth with two runs, making the score 8-6, but Harvard responded with two of their own to tie the game 8-8 in the bottom of the seventh. Both teams had opportunities to decide the game in the eighth and ninth innings, but good pitching and good defense kept the score locked until the tenth. With one out in the top of the tenth, Mookie Nelson (Randolph, MA) singled to left and promptly stole second base. A pass ball advanced him to third, and he scored on a sacrifice fly by Sean Gavin (Keene, NH) to put the Wolverines ahead 9-8. Zach Walker (Hingham, MA) came out to pitch in the tenth after a superlative relief performance in the ninth, striking out three of the four Harvard batters he faced in that inning. Walker sealed the win in the bottom of the tenth as he retired all three batters with infield ground ball outs. The win puts the Wolverines at 6-4. It was noted by more than a few in attendance that TV/movie actor Tommy Lee Jones was in the stands for that last couple of innings, no doubt cheering on the Wolverines. However, his presence was overshadowed as Sean Gavin’s sacrifice fly to win the game set a new school record with twenty-eight runs batted in, breaking the old record set last year by Ryan D’Arcy, who is currently on the roster at the University of Southern Maine. Central Maine Community College is up next on the schedule as they come to face the Wolverines tomorrow at Dolman Field at 4:00.