The baseball team picked up its first shutout of the season Tuesday, defeating Manhattan College 4-0 at Yale Field.

Coming off a 16-1 loss to Columbia University (15-17, 6-6 Ivy), the Elis (12-15, 3-5 Ivy) rebounded: six pitchers combined to limit the Jaspers (14-14) to six hits and no runs.

On offense, the class of 2003 led the way: Chris Elkins ’03, Darren Beasley ’03, Mike Hirschfield ’03 and Dave Fortenbaugh ’03 combined for seven of the Bulldogs’ nine hits, all four runs, and three RBIs.

On the mound, Yale’s pitching staff was running on all cylinders.

“Everybody just had their best stuff today,” said starter John Janco ’06 (1-2) , who gave up one hit in three innings. “[We] threw strikes [and] got ahead in the count.”

The Bulldogs took the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth inning when Fortenbaugh, who led the team with a .384 batting average entering the game, hit an RBI single.

One run was all the Eli pitching staff needed.

Eric Naison-Phillips ’03 (2-0) picked up the win in one inning of relief, and Colin Ward-Henninger ’05 (0-2), Doug Shimokawa ’04 (1-2), Mike Elias ’05 (3-2), and John Hollis ’06 (0-3) finished the Jaspers.

“It’s always good when you pitch well,” Beasley said. “When we’re pitching well, it just gives everybody confidence.”

Yale picked up three insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth with RBIs from Elkins and Beasley. Elkins’ RBI was his team-leading 19th.

After relying on the bottom of the order against the Lions, the heart of the lineup came through against Manhattan. When the team’s top offensive players perform, it sets the tone for the rest of the team, Beasley said.

Kyle Wirtz (2-4) took the loss for the Jaspers, despite a strong performance, going 7.2 innings while giving up nine hits and three earned runs. On defense, after six errors against the Lions in the doubleheader’s nightcap Sunday, the Bulldogs only made two Tuesday.

Beasley said coach John Stuper told the team it was the best overall game it had played this season.

With the win against Manhattan in the books, the Bulldogs face Harvard (8-15, 3-5 Ivy) in two doubleheaders Friday and Saturday in Cambridge.

The Crimson, the Elis, and Brown (8-20, 3-5 Ivy) are in a three-way tie for first place in the Red Rolfe Division, one of the Ivy League’s two baseball divisions.

“We swung the bat pretty well today towards the end, so we’ll definitely be swinging when it comes to Harvard,” Janco said.

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