Baseball Beats Princeton in Regular Season Finale, 11-6, Completes Series Sweep

PRINCETON, N.J. – Junior

Dominic Brancel went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs, sophomore

Liam Wilson finished 2-for-3 with four RBIs and a double, and Harvard University baseball beat Princeton University, 11-6, in the series finale on Sunday afternoon at Clarke Field.

Completing a three-game sweep in its final series of the season, the Crimson (11-26, 9-12 Ivy) plated six runs in the top of the fifth to take a 9-1 lead on its way to its third straight win of the weekend over the Tigers (15-27, 8-13 Ivy).

Brancel hit his first home run of the season and second of his career while Wilson tallied a season-high four RBIs and hit his team-high ninth double of the season. Senior

Jordan Kang went 3-for-4 in the contest, hitting .714 (10-for-14) in the series and .737 (14-for-19) in his final four games of the year.

Senior pitcher/designated hitter

Gio Colasante tallied two hits, two runs, and an RBI at the plate, while throwing 4.0 innings in the start, permitting one run on one hit and one walk with two strikeouts.

For the series, Harvard compiled 28 runs, 38 hits, 26 RBIs, seven doubles, and four homers. Harvard posted its first series sweep of the season and captured its second Ivy League series win of the year.

Harvard Highlights

• Junior catcher Dominic Brancel finished 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBIs, and a run. He blasted his first homer of the season and the second of his career.

• Sophomore right fielder Liam Wilson posted a 2-for-3 effort with a season-high four RBIs, two runs, and a walk. He registered his team-high ninth double of the year.

• Senior third baseman Jordan Kang went 3-for-4 with two runs and a walk. He hit .714 (10-for-14) in the series and hit .737 (14-for-19) over his last four games of the season.

• Senior pitcher/designated hitter Gio Colasante tallied two hits, two runs, and an RBI at the plate, while throwing 4.0 innings in the start, permitting one run on one hit and one walk with two strikeouts.

• Sophomore left fielder Gavin Smith contributed a double, an RBI, a run, and a walk. He hit his sixth double of the year and his third double of the series.

• Sophomore right-hander Daniel Sams tossed 1.2 innings of relief, allowing no runs on one hit and no walks with four strikeouts.

• For the series, Harvard compiled 28 runs, 38 hits, 26 RBIs, seven doubles, and four homers.

• The Crimson scored double-figure runs for the fifth time this season and for the second time in the series.

• Harvard totaled 12 hits as a team, marking its 12th game this season with double-figure hits. The Crimson posted double-digit hits in each of five straight games to close the year.

How It Happened

• Harvard opened the scoring with three runs in the top of the first to jump out to a 3-0 lead. After Max Lane and Matthew Witkow each brought home a run with a ground ball, Wilson capped the frame's scoring with a sacrifice fly to right field.

• Princeton cut the margin to 3-1 with a run in the bottom of the fourth.

• The Crimson answered with six runs in the top of the fifth, moving ahead 9-1. Colasante started the frame's scoring with an RBI single through the left side before Wilson sent a bases-clearing double to left field. Smith then drove an RBI double to left field prior to an RBI single through the left side from Brancel that closed the stanza's scoring.

• The Tigers scored two runs in the last of the sixth to pull within 6-3.

• Brancel countered that with a two-run home run to left field in the top of the seventh, returning the lead to eight runs at 11-3.

• The hosts came within 11-4 behind a solo home run in the home half of the seventh.

• Princeton scored the game's final two runs with a two-run single in the bottom of the eighth to pull within 11-6.

• Sams recorded the game's final five outs to close out the win.