Baseball

Fives Teams Remain in ILCS Contention Entering Final Two Weeks of League Slate

PRINCETON, N.J. -- Dartmouth senior infielder Dustin Shirley, Harvard junior right-handed pitcher Simon Rosenblum-Larson and Harvard freshman right-handed pitcher Buddy Hayward earned the League’s weekly honors. Following this week’s results, both Dartmouth and Harvard remain in contention for the Ivy League Championship Series.  

LEAGUE NOTES
  • Yale (14-4) sits on the precipice of qualifying for its third-straight Ivy League Championship Series, needing only a single Dartmouth loss this weekend to secure its berth. The Bulldogs will return to the field on May 12-13 for a three-game set against Penn to close out the regular season.  
  • With only four Ivy League programs competing this weekend, the site of the ILCS will not be determined until the final weekend of League play. Yale holds a three-game advantage over its nearest competitor Columbia (11-7) and needs just one victory—or a single loss by both Columbia and Dartmouth—to earn hosting rights for the second-straight season. 
  • Yale leads the nation with a .985 fielding percentage this season—committing only 21 errors with 1,017 putouts.  
  • Cornell’s Kyle Gallagher draws 1.03 walks per game, third in NCAA Division I. 
  • Dartmouth’s Sean Sullivan, who tops the Ivy League charts with a .353 batting average and .453 on-base percentage, is one of the toughest players to strikeout in NCAA Division I. He averages one strikeout per every 13.4 at-bats. 
  • Princeton’s Ben Gross (15th, 8.00) and Dartmouth’s Clay Chatham (33rd, 6.14) are among the national leaders in strikeout to walk ratio, while Harvard’s Simon Rosenblum-Larson (47th, 11.37) ranks among the national best with 11.37 strikeouts per nine innings.
  • Harvard’s Noah Zavolas is having a breakout senior campaign with a League-best 2.81 ERA and 72 strikeouts, just ahead of Crimson teammate Simon Rosenblum-Larson (2.84 ERA, 72 strikeouts). 
  • Four Ivy League starters have five-or-more wins on the hill this season—Harvard’s Noah Zavolas (6) and Yale’s Eric Brodkowitz (6), Kumar Nambiar (5) and Scott Politz (5). 
  • Dartmouth’s Austen Michel and Yale’s Benny Wanger own a League-high six saves this year. 
  • Seven of this week’s games will be broadcast on the Ivy League Network, now available on Apple TV, Roku and the ILN app for Apple and Android devices. The network can be found at IvyLeague.tv and IvyLeagueNetwork.com.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Tuesday, May 1
Columbia at Rutgers, 1 p.m. 
Brown at Dartmouth, 2 p.m. [ILN]
Yale at Quinnipiac, 2 p.m. 
 
Wednesday, May 2
Boston College at Brown, 3:30 p.m. 
Cornell at Binghamton, 6:30 p.m. 

Thursday, May 3 
Princeton at Monmouth, 3 p.m. 

Saturday, May 5 
Cornell at Brown, 11:30 a.m. [ILN]
Princeton at Dartmouth, 11:30 a.m. [ILN] 
Cornell at Brown, 2:30 p.m. [ILN]
Princeton at Dartmouth, 2:30 p.m. [ILN] 

Sunday, May 6
Cornell at Brown, 1 p.m. [ILN]
Princeton at Dartmouth, 1 p.m. [ILN]  

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Dartmouth senior infielder Dustin Shirley made the most of his limited opportunities, as the Big Green’s mid-week outing against Siena and series finale against Brown were squandered due to rain. He hit .500 with four hits in eight at-bats—all of the extra-base variety—as the Big Green split the April 28 doubleheader with the Bears. 
 
The Los Angeles, Calif., product had three doubles and accounted for six runs via three runs scored and three RBI in the doubleheader. Shirley provided Dartmouth with a walk-off 2-1 victory in the series opener, belting a solo home run over the left field wall in the bottom of the ninth. The senior slugged 1.250 to accompany a .500 on-base percentage on the week. 
 
Shirley is Dartmouth’s second Player of the Week award winner this season, joining Sean Sullivan (March 19). 

Shirley’s Statistics for the Week
2 G, .500 (4-for-8), 3 R, 3 RBI, 3 2B, 1 HR, 1 SB, 10 TB, .500 OBP, 1.250 SLG 


 
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Called upon to work on three days rest on two occasions this week, Harvard junior right-handed pitcher Simon Rosenblum-Larson proved up to the test for head coach Bill Decker, compiling a 0.96 ERA. 
 
The Madison, Wis., native held opponents to a .121 batting average in 9 1/3 innings across a pair of League outings at Princeton and at Cornell. Rosenblum-Larson struck out 16 over the span, while conceding just four hits, two runs—one earned—and six walks. The junior’s win at Cornell helped the Crimson reach the 20-win plateau for the first time since 2006 and the first time under head coach Decker. Harvard also boasts 10 conference wins this season, the most since the Crimson went 10-10 in League play in 2010. 
 
Rosenblum-Larson is Harvard’s third-straight Pitcher of the Week award winner, following back-to-back nods for Crimson senior Noah Zavolas (April 16 & 23). Rosenblum-Larson previously snapped a three-year Pitcher of the Week drought for Harvard on March 19. 

Rosenblum-Larson’s Statistics for the Week 
2 APP, 2 GS, 1-0, 9.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 6 BB, 16 K, 0.96 ERA


 
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Harvard freshman right-handed pitcher Buddy Hayward provided pivotal innings in a six-game week for the Crimson, helping Harvard play its way back into the Ivy League Championship Series race with a 4-2 mark. 
 
The Plantation, Fla., product hurled 10 1/3 innings, while holding opposing hitters from Princeton and Cornell to a .184 clip. Hayward allowed seven hits, a walk and an earned run, but struck out 14 across a pair of League appearances. The freshman picked up his second career victory in his mid-week start—the fifth of his career—at Princeton on April 24. 
 
This is Hayward’s third Rookie of the Week honor (Feb. 26, March 12) and Harvard’s fifth of the season. With this week’s award, Hayward breaks a tie with fellow Crimson freshman and two-time recipient Buddy Mrowka (March 19, April 16). 
 
Hayward’s Statistics for the Week
2 APP, 1 GS, 1-0, 10.1 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 14 K, 0.87 ERA


 
HONOR ROLL
Collin Garner, Brown (Fr., RHP – St. Augustine, Fla.) 
1 APP, 1 GS, 0-0, 7.0 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 0.00 ERA
 
Sam Grigo, Brown (Sr., OF – Westbrook, Conn.) 
3 G, .429 (6-for-14), 3 R, 3 RBI, 1 2B, 2 SB, 7 TB, .429 OBP, .500 SLG
 
Matt Cerfolio, Columbia (Fr., IF – Indian Springs, Ala.) 
3 G, .364 (4-for-11), 1 R, 4 RBI, 1 3B, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 6 TB, .462 OBP, .545 SLG
 
Ben Porter, Columbia (Jr., OF – Newton, Mass.) 
4 G, .538 (7-for-13), 5 R, 5 RBI, 1 2B, 4 BB, 4 SB, 8 TB, .647 OBP, .615 SLG
 
Ty Wiest, Columbia (Sr., RHP – Castle Rock, Colo.) 
2 APP, 0-0, 1 Sv., 6.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 0.00 ERA
 
Ryan Krainz, Cornell (Sr., IF – Naperville, Ill.) 
4 G, .375 (6-for-16), 6 R, 1 RBI, 2 2B, 1 3B, 3 BB, 2 SB, 10 TB, .474 OBP, .625 SLG

Austin Wahl, Cornell (Sr., RHP – Hollister, Calif.) 
3 APP, 1-0, 4.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 0.00 ERA
 
Cole O’Connor, Dartmouth (Jr., RHP – Bedford, Mass.) 
1 APP, 1 GS, 0-0, 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 0.00 ERA
 
Patrick Robinson, Harvard (Jr., OF – Melbourne, Fla.) 
6 G, .370 (10-for-27), 8 R, 8 RBI, 2 2B, 1 HR, 2 BB, 1 SB, 15 TB, .414 OBP, .556 SLG
 
Gabe Kleiman, Penn (Sr., LHP – New York, N.Y.) 
1 APP, 1 GS, 1-0, 1 CG, 9.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 12 K, 2.00 ERA
 
Eduardo Malinowski, Penn (Fr., IF – Spring, Texas)
4 G, .412 (7-for-17), 3 R, 3 RBI, 1 2B, 1 BB, 8 TB, .444 OBP, .471 SLG
 
Ben Gross, Princeton (Sr., RHP – Cranbury, N.J.) 
1 APP, 1 GS, 0-1, 7.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 1.29 ERA
 
Jesper Horsted, Princeton (Jr., OF – Roseville, Minn.) 
6 G, .348 (8-for-23), 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 1 SB, 8 TB, .400 OBP, .348 SLG
 
Griffin Dey, Yale (Jr., 1B – Pound Ridge, N.Y.) 
4 G, .333 (5-for-15), 3 R, 4 RBI, 2 HR, 2 BB, 11 TB, .389 OBP, .733 SLG

Scott Politz, Yale (Jr., RHP – Austin, Texas) 
1 APP, 1 GS, 1-0, 8.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 0.00 ERA