Ivy Baseball Teams Do Little to Inspire

Spring break of 2008 has thus far done little to shed light on which baseball teams could emerge as division frontrunners once Ivy League play commences. While some schools have returned from tropical trips that produced uneven results, others are entering their spring road trips unsure of what to expect.

PENN (6-7)
The Quakers are in a three-way tie for first place in the league and lead the Gehrig Division—with a sub-.500 record. A seven-game, 10-day trip to Boca Raton, Fla. brought about blowout losses to Big East foes, as Penn lost 18-0 to Connecticut and 14-2 to Pittsburgh. The team managed to gain some momentum toward the end of the trip, however, defeating Dominican (N.Y.) and New Jersey Institute of Technology by a combined score of 19-2, but still finished with a 3-4 record over break. One Quaker did separate himself from the pack: Jeremy Maas earned his first collegiate win this past Friday, allowing only two runs over six innings against Mount St. Mary’s. Maas was named Ivy League Pitcher of the Week for the week of March 25 for his six-strikeout effort.

BROWN (6-7)
One spring game is left for Brown, who enters today’s matchup with George Mason tied for the Rolfe Division lead with Dartmouth. It will be the final game of a seven-game, six-day stretch down south in which the Bears took on tough ACC schools such as Duke, as well as UNC Asheville and Richmond, in North Carolina and Virginia. Brown is 3-3 during this period, most recently pummeling Richmond 16-7—the team’s third double-digit run total in five days. 2008 has thus far been a completely different season for the Bears, who at this point last year sat at the bottom of the Ivy League with a record of 1-8. Behind Brown’s surprising start has been freshman Matt Colantonio, who leads the offense with a .467 average and a .538 on base percentage. Colantonio was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week for the week of March 25 after posting a team-high .538 batting average over the first three games of the road trip and has also contributed on the defensive end, playing errorless ball behind the plate.

DARTMOUTH (6-7)
Despite being tied for both the league and Rolfe Division lead with Penn and Brown, respectively, Dartmouth has arguably the most momentum heading into the beginning of conference play. The Big Green overcame a rocky start to its spring trip to finish on a three-game winning streak. During the team’s time in Bradenton, Fla., Dartmouth played 10 games in eight days and managed a 4-6 record against tough Big Ten competition like Ohio State and Northwestern. Senior co-captain Damon Wright was named to the Ivy League Honor Roll after hitting .412 with 10 RBI and adding some power with three homeruns last week.

PRINCETON (8-9)
The Tigers entered spring break off to their best start in years. Boasting a 6-1 record, Princeton headed south to take on top-ranked teams, including University of North Carolina and Navy. Playing nine games in 11 days proved to be too much for the Tigers, who emerged 2-8 over the stretch, which included sweeps at the hands of both UNC-Greensboro and the third-ranked Tar Heels. Princeton’s two wins came in very different packages; after hammering Navy for a 20-4 victory last Saturday, the Tigers most recently found themselves on the right side of a 1-0 pitching duel, shutting out Rutgers on Wednesday.

CORNELL (6-8)
The Big Red managed a productive spring break, going an even .500 during an eight-game, seven-day stretch in southern Florida. After winning its first two bouts against Pittsburgh and Penn State, Cornell went on to lose four straight, including an embarrassing 20-9 decision to now third-ranked Miami. The team’s wins came behind strong performances on the mound, as Big Red starting pitchers combined to give up just six earned runs in the four victories the team had during the trip. The offense sparked behind third baseman/catcher Nathan Ford, whose .485 average and 11 RBI over the week notched him Ivy League Honor Roll honors for the week of March 25.

YALE (6-14)
The Elis saw a lot of baseball during their long spring break. Though the team notched just five wins in 16 games over the two-week span, Yale also managed one of its biggest upsets in recent memory during the trip to the Carolinas. The Bulldogs defeated then fifth-ranked South Carolina 5-3 behind offensive production by centerfielder Josh Cox and first baseman Trygg Larsson-Danforth. For the second time in three weeks, catcher Ryan Lavarnway was named Ivy League Player of the Week for the week of March 25. During that period, he hit .467 with a .652 on-base percentage and back-to-back homeruns, setting a new Yale record for career homeruns with 28. Lavarnway leads the team with a .383 average, 22 RBI, and eight homers.

HARVARD (1-13)
Bringing up the rear of the Ivy League is Harvard, whose lone win came during the team’s 12-game, eight-day trip to Florida and California. After losing its first five games of the season, the Crimson managed to defeat Lafayette 4-1 during what was otherwise a terrible road trip for the pitching staff. Harvard went on to lost the next eight games by a total margin of 53-12. Ironically, it was a Crimson pitcher that would receive recognition from the league, as freshman right-hander Anthony Nutter was named to the Ivy League Honor Roll for the week of March 25 after striking out three in two no-hit innings of relief during Saturday’s loss to San Diego, his only appearance of the week.