Tag Archive: M. Baseball

  1. BASEBALL | Elis sacrifice their way to victory

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    The baseball team got back to its winning ways after having dropped two consecutive games against Princeton over the weekend.

    The Elis (13–10, 2–2 Ivy) defeated Sacred Heart (12–14) 3–2 on Wednesday as they edged out the Pioneers with an eighth-inning sacrifice fly by Trey Rallis ’11 broke the 2–2 tie.

    It was the first Yale game this week, after the Tuesday contest against Northeastern was canceled.

    “It was just one of those days where we didn’t hit great,” captain and third baseman Andy Megee ’11 admitted.

    The teams were deadlocked and strong pitching performances did not allow either team to gain an advantage. Yale was the first to strike in the second inning, capitalizing on Sacred Heart’s mistakes.

    The Pioneers hit the second batter, Ryan Brenner ’12, giving him a free pass to first base. After a wild pitch, Brenner advanced to second base and was in scoring position. A single to center field brought Brenner home and Yale took a 1–0 advantage.

    But Sacred Heart was quick to respond, scoring in the bottom of the third. A team effort brought the Pioneers’ M.J. Schifano home.

    A combination of poor hitting, smart pitching, and good defense explained why neither team was able to score in the fifth or sixth innings.

    “The pitching was pretty solid,” pitcher Brook Hart ’11 said. “We walked a few more than we would’ve liked but we made pitches when we needed to and the fielders picked us up.”

    The Pioneers struck again in the sixth inning to put the Bulldogs in a 2–1 hole going into the final three innings.

    But Yale was not rattled, and the Bulldogs responded in the next inning with a run of their own, as Charlie Neil ’12 scored on a squeeze play by Gant Elmore ’11.

    Megee, the captain, played a critical role in the Bulldogs’ final run. He started the inning with a double and followed it by stealing base after the next batter flied out to right field. Rallis brought Megee home for the deciding run.

    Rallis and Megee are both having a strong final season in their Yale uniforms. Rallis is batting .333 and has 17 RBIs on the season while Megee leads the team with 30 hits and is tied for the most home runs with two.

    Cale Hanson ’14 secured the victory for Yale in the ninth inning, allowing a single and a walk before closing out the game. Currently, Hanson has a 0.00 ERA on the season, through 6.1 innings.

    “It wasn’t pretty but I survived,” Hanson said of containing the Pioneer offense.

    The game was not atypical of the Bulldogs’ battles against Sacred Heart. Last year, the two teams split the series, with Yale winning the first game and losing the second one in a 5–4 loss.

    So as to save their pitchers’ arms for the weekend, nine different pitchers combined for the effort against the Pioneers, with only Kevin Fortunato ’14 pitching more than one inning.

    The Bulldogs will return to conference play this weekend with a doubleheader against Penn on Saturday and another doubleheader against Columbia on Sunday. Penn has gotten off to a hot start to the Ivy season with an undefeated record, including two wins over Dartmouth, the team that has won the Ancient Eight crown for the past two seasons.

  2. BASEBALL | Yale splits weekend, still atop Red Rolfe

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    The baseball team’s seven-game winning streak came to an abrupt end this weekend as the Bulldogs had a hot-and-cold start in their first weekend of Ivy League action.

    The Elis (12–10, 2–2 Ivy) started Ancient Eight play with two wins against Cornell (3–17, 1–3) and then dropped two consecutive games against Princeton (9–13, 4–0). However, Ivy foe Dartmouth (12–6, 2–2), who has won the conference title for the last two years, was swept by Penn (12–10, 4–0), keeping Yale tied for the top spot in the Red Rolfe division.

    “We feel lucky to still be tied for first,” captain and third baseman Andy Megee ’11 said. “As well as we played yesterday [against Cornell], that’s how badly we played today [against Princeton].”

    Heading into the games against Cornell, Yale was riding the momentum of five straight victories. Yale’s offense picked up where it had let off against Quinnipiac, scoring more than four runs for the 14th and 15th times this season.

    The bullpen also set the tone against the Big Red, allowing only 13 hits in the two games combined.

    In the first game, Vinny Lally ’11 hit all corners of the strike zone as he struck out 10 Big Red batters en route to his second complete game of the season, leading Yale to a 7–2 win.

    The second game was a combined effort from the pitching staff. Pat Ludwig ’12 began the afternoon on the mound and struck out six batters. Eric Shultz ’12 stepped up in the ninth to seal his third save of the season, giving the team a 5–3 victory.

    Shultz’s pitching was critical as the Big Red were on the verge of making a comeback in the second game with batters in scoring positions. After Cornell scored a run in the ninth inning, Kevin Fortunato ’14 walked a Big Red player that put the tying run on base with two outs. Shultz then came into the game and forced a ground out to end the contest.

    “We hit great, played solid defense, and our pitching was phenomenal,” Megee said following the victories.

    For the freshmen, the games were their first time playing against Ivy competition. In his debut, Cale Hanson ’14 had three runs in the doubleheader against Cornell.

    “My first Ivy game felt like I was playing in the playoffs,” Hanson said. “Every run, hit and out felt so important. It is a loud atmosphere to play in and it makes winning feel all the better.”

    But the situation was much different when Yale faced Princeton. The Tigers have struggled thus far in the season, however, none of those struggles were apparent as Princeton came out, hitting and pitching better than it had in its previous games.

    In the first game, the Tigers scored five runs in the first three innings. Two more runs in the sixth inning ensured victory for the team. Yale scored a run in the seventh inning, but that would be it for the Bulldogs who went on to lose 7–1. The loss ended the team’s seven game winning streak, its longest since the 2005 season.

    Megee said the team struggled on both the mound and at the plate in its defeats to Princeton. Brook Hart ’11 pitched the entire game and was unable to find the form on the mound that had gotten him off to a hot start this season. He had a 1.07 ERA through 25.1 innings pitched before the weekend, but allowed seven runs, four of which were earned, in six innings pitched in the game.

    “I struggled to put people away,” Hart said. “They were just solid at the plate and took advantage of their opportunities.”

    The Bulldogs got off to a better start in the second game but still could not notch a win against the Tigers. Yale held a 3–1 advantage going into the bottom of the seventh, but then allowed Princeton to score five runs.

    The Elis were unable to respond and did not score a run for the remainder of the game, but not due to a lack of opportunity. The Elis had two runners in scoring positions, but were unable to get a hit to bring them home.

    “We didn’t execute in big situations,” Lally said. “Defense had a few lapses, pitching walked too many and we weren’t able to get the big hit when we needed it. If we cleaned up our pitching and defense, those two games could have completely different outcomes.”

    The team will be back in action early this week with a game against Northeastern on Tuesday and again against Sacred Heart on Wednesday.

    “We just [need to] keep doing what we’re doing,” Megee said. “We just [need to] try and minimize the mistakes.”

  3. BASEBALL | Bulldogs hit the road

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    The baseball team (10–8) will take a five-game winning streak into this weekend as they begin Ancient Eight play against Cornell (2–14) and Princeton (5–13).

    Last year, the team had an 11–6–1 record before the Ivy League season began against Columbia. However, the team went 0–4 during that first Ivy weekend, and will hope for a better start this year.

    “We need to keep doing what we’ve been doing,” captain and third baseman Andy Megee ’11 said. “It all starts with pitching and defense.”

    Yale will face the Big Red in a doubleheader this Saturday. The Big Red have gotten off to a rough start this season, losing their first five games before finally defeating Saint Joseph’s University. Cornell only has two players with a .300 batting average or better: Mickey Brodsky and Marshall Yanzick. The team’s record has been suffering in part because its bullpen has a 6.20 ERA compared to its opponents’ 3.88 ERA.

    The Bulldogs defeated Cornell both times last year, but those wins did not come easily. In both games last year, the team trailed the Big Red 2–0 but was able come back. In the first game, a walk-off home run by Trygg Larsson-Danforth ’10 secured the victory for the team 4–3 in extra innings. The second game was still close, but the Bulldogs won by a two run margin, 7–5.

    The Bulldogs will travel to face Princeton on Sunday. The Tigers have yet to play a game at home and have had a poor start to the season as well with a 5–13 record. The team has had difficulty on offense with a .241 batting average. The highest average on the team is Alec Keller’s .302 hitting percentage. Similar to Cornell, the Tiger bullpen has struggled with a 6.69 ERA while its opponents have averaged a 3.83 ERA.

    The Tigers and the Bulldogs were neck and neck in their two games last year. The teams split the doubleheader, with Yale losing the first game 7–8 and winning the second contest 6–5.

    In the first game last year, the team lost a heartbreaker after overcoming a 0–7 deficit. However, a Tiger run ended Yale’s hope for a comeback win.

    The Elis pulled off a successful comeback in the second game. Brook Hart ’11 was critical for securing the win for the Bulldogs in that game. Hart, after pitching for the entire first game, came back to throw the last two innings of the second game to close the contest against the Tigers, earning him his first career save.

    “My mindset going into this week is to get geared up for the real thing,” Hart said. “Everything we have done up to this point means nothing if we don’t come out and execute what we’ve learned so far. I think the games prior have been good tune-ups to get the kinks out and knock the rust off. And now it’s go time.”

    Hart has been critical for Yale’s success early this season. He has the second-lowest ERA on the team with 1.07 ERA through 25.1 innings. Freshman Cale Hanson ’14 has a 0.00 ERA through 5.1 innings.

    The Bulldogs have had little batting problems in their games this season, scoring four or more runs in 13 out of their 18 games. The team has scored 14 or more runs in each of its last four games.

    The Elis’ strong freshman class has been an important part of that strong offensive output. Hanson and Jacob Hunter ’14 have combined for 22 RBIs and are both batting over .300.

    “It’s been pretty remarkable,” Megee said. “I hardly look at them as freshmen anymore. On and off the field they’ve fit in so well. We’ve gotten so much more from them than we thought we would.”

    On Saturday, the Elis will travel to Cornell for its doubleheader slated for 12 p.m. The team will then go to Princeton for its doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m. on Sunday.

  4. BASEBALL | Bulldogs continue winning streak

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    The Bulldogs took an early lead against Quinnipiac on Wednesday afternoon and never looked back.

    In its last game before the start of Ivy League play, the Yale baseball team (10–8) used its momentum from last weekend’s sweep of Hartford and cruised to a 14–0 win over the Bobcats. Quinnipiac was coming off its best start in the program’s Division I history with an 11–6 record coming into its game against Yale, but the Bulldogs did not allow them a single run en route to their fourth shutout of the season.

    “It was the fifth win in a row and gives us a lot of momentum going into Ivy play,” captain and third baseman Andy Megee ’11 said. “Everyone pitched and hit well.”

    The Elis got off to a quick start with three runs in the first two innings. Quinnipiac, which has only been shut out one other time this season, was scoreless in the first two innings and for the rest of the game.

    With the 3–0 lead, the Bulldogs ran away with the game in the fourth inning with four runs. Another five runs in the seventh and eighth innings sealed the Elis’ fifth consecutive win.

    “I think this game was a perfect example of everyone coming to the field ready to contribute to a win,” infielder Cale Hanson ’14 said. “No one player really stood out today because everyone found a way to do [his] job well. Everyone was ready to play.”

    The victory was a very different story from last year’s battle against the Bobcats, which Yale lost 19–18. The Elis came back after trailing 9–2, 13–9 and 16–14 and led Quinnipiac 18–16 going into the bottom on the ninth. But a walk-off three-run home run shattered that comeback and gave the victory to the Bobcats.

    Hanson had a big game on Wednesday with three runs, two hits and an RBI. Megee added three hits and two runs.

    Megee has helped the team score runs in all of its games. He has a .316 batting average and is tied for the most home runs this season with two.

    All six pitchers in the game had strong performances, not allowing a single run.

    “The pitching looked very good,” pitcher Brook Hart ’11 said. “We had a collaboration of young, old, and guys back from injury and everyone pounded the zone, which was what we had been missing.”

    Hart did not pitch in the win against the Bobcats, but has a 1.07 ERA in 25.1 innings pitched. Pitcher Vinny Lally ’11, who has pitched the most innings on the team, added that the game today was “phenomenal” because the Bulldogs did not allow any free base runners and threw strikes.

    Last year, the team had a 6.22 ERA, but the Bulldogs, with an improved bullpen, have a 5.49 ERA thus far this season.

    The Elis will begin Ancient Eight play at Cornell in a doubleheader on Saturday at 12 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. They will then travel to Princeton on Sunday for 12 p.m. and 2:30 p.m games.

  5. BASEBALL | Elis take four straight over Hartford

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    After a six day hiatus due to weather, the Yale baseball team (9–8) broke .500 for the first time this season with a 4–0 weekend against Hartford (1–15–1).

    The Bulldogs travelled to Hartford on Saturday for the first of its back-to-back doubleheaders, winning both games 4–0 and 14–0, respectively. In its second doubleheader, played at home, Yale narrowly defeated the Hawks in the first game, 15–14, but had a decisive victory in the second game, 17–1, to complete the weekend sweep.

    “We just hit the ball really well,” captain Andy Megee ’11 said. “Brook was awesome in game two and we [just] battled.”

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    Pitching, which has plagued the Bulldogs so far this season, was strong in the team’s games on the road.

    Pitcher Vinny Lally ’11, who is 2–0 this season, only allowed two hits in the first game and no runs. He also notched ten strikeouts. In the afternoon game, five pitchers worked together to allow just three hits and no runs.

    “The pitchers pounded the strike zone and challenged Hartford’s hitters,” Lally said. “We didn’t walk many, worked down in the zone, and let our defense work.”

    The Bulldogs’ offense was strong on the road as well.

    In the first game, seniors Trey Rallis ’11 and Gant Elmore ’11 combined for two scores. Rallis hit a double in the third that brought Elmore home for the game’s first run. A Rallis single in the fifth then sent Elmore home again to put Yale up 2–0. At the top of the ninth, the Bulldogs scored two runs to secure the victory, 4–0.

    The afternoon game saw an offensive explosion from the Bulldogs, something that the team has not seen all season. Yale scored 14 runs on 16 hits and took the game 14–0. Prior to that contest, the Elis’ highest scoring output was seven.

    On Sunday, the Bulldogs then returned home for their first game of the season at Yale Field.

    And it was a battle.

    After Hartford was shutout in the previous two games, a rejuvenated Hawk team took a quick 6–0 lead over the Bulldogs through three innings. Yale scored five runs at the top of the third, but Hartford quickly answered back with a six run fourth inning. Through six innings, the two teams were tied 14–14 and were scoreless over the next four. Yale finally broke the tie and took the win after Matt Schmidt ’12 sent Megee home in the eleventh with a sacrifice fly to center field.

    “We were really excited for our home opener,” freshman Cale Hanson ‘14 said. “Even when we got off to a rough start in the first game, our intensity was high and we were able to have a few big innings and keep ourselves in the game.”

    Hart allowed just one run in the second game of the doubleheader and had six strikeouts. The offense continued to hit away, scoring 17 runs for the victory.

    “[This weekend] gives us a lot of momentum going forward,” Megee said. “Hopefully, we’re reaching our peak at the right point.”

    The Elis will take on Quinnipiac on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. at the Yale Field.

  6. BASEBALL | A Hawk-filled weekend

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    Yale baseball will play four games this weekend after having its games against UConn and CCSU cancelled this past week.

    The Elis (5–8) will face Hartford (1–11–1) in back-to-back doubleheaders: Saturday at Hartford, and Sunday at Yale Field. Depending on the weather, Sunday’s two games will be the Bulldogs’ first time competing at home this season.

    “[In order to win] we have to pitch well for all four games and play good defense,” captain Andy Megee ’11 said.

    Hartford has typically posed no challenge to the Bulldogs in the past.

    The Elis had a 3–1 record over the Hawks last year. Yale’s one loss came in the first game with a one run margin in extra innings, 7–8. But, the Bulldogs took command of the next three games, with convincing 12–7, 10–0 and 17–5 wins.

    “The only team that can beat us is ourselves,” Megee concluded.

    The offense has looked strong for the Elis. The Bulldogs have scored more than four runs in eight of their games this season. Megee has 11 RBIs and a .333 thus far this season.

    But the Bulldog defense has not fared as well. Megee said the team has placed much emphasis on pitching, but the Bulldogs have struggled with a 6.59 ERA through 13 games. Still, some individual performances have shown improvement from last year. Brook Hart ’11, who had a 6.26 ERA last year, has a 1.62 ERA through 11.1 innings so far this season.

    “I think an important part of pitching is to get a routine down and work everyday,” Hart said. “You just need to keep working at it everyday. I think we have a couple of guys doing different things and they are starting to figure it out. I think we will start to see improvement going forward as early as this weekend.”

    The Bulldogs are slated to make up their game against No. 19 UConn on April 12, but their game against Central Connecticut has not yet been rescheduled.

    “We definitely wanted to play,” Megee said. “It does help guys get some rest and work on things we need to work on in practice.”

    Play is set to start at 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday at Hartford, and 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Sunday at Yale.

  7. BASEBALL | Yale hopes for another strong start

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    With spring break around the corner, the Yale baseball team is preparing for its first games of the season.

    The team finished in last place in the Rolfe Division last season for the second consecutive year with an 8–12 Ivy League record, 21–22–1 overall. Despite that weak overall season, the team had a strong spring break last year, 9–4–1, and will look to repeat that performance when it hits the road and starts its season at the RussMatt Invitational on Saturday.

    The team will play Lehigh, Xavier, Miami (Ohio), Toledo, Bowling Green, Michigan State, and Ohio State in successive days at the tournament. They will then play Central Conneticut State and Navy to wrap up the break. The Bulldogs will see their first Ivy League action against Cornell on April 2.

    “We have never looked better in my years here,” pitcher Vinny Lally ’11 said. “We are trying to take everything from last year and build on it.”

    Pitching has been a problem for the last two years. Last year, the team recorded a 6.22 ERA, a slight improvement on its 6.82 ERA in the 2008–’09 season. Lally said that the team needs to focus on improving its pitching and defense if it wants to have a better season.

    The team will be heading into the new season with six new freshmen that are capable of helping on both defense and offense.

    “Guys are getting older, more mature, and it’s really about refining everything from last year,” pitcher Pat Ludwig ’12 said. “We don’t have any reason not to be successful.”

    This year’s core pitching staff will include Brook Hart ’11, Vinny Lally ’11, Ludwig and Christopher O’Hare ’13. Lally led this year’s returners with a 4.37 ERA last season. Captain Andy Megee ’11 said that the pitchers gained additional experience by competing over the summer. He also added that the team is more experienced this year, with at least one year of experience at each spot.

    “I think we will be able to handle the highs and lows of the season,” Megee said. “We did not handle our slump well last year.”

    Megee will look to lead the team on the offensive side after a strong season last year. He batted .310 last season and was one of three players that competed in all of the Bulldogs’ games last year. But he said all of the top nine hitters on the team will be critical to the team’s success this year and that any of them could have a big season.

    The team has only competed against itself and is eager to get back into collegiate competition. Ludwig said that the team wants to use the RussMatt Invitational as an opportunity to see how they size up against other teams.

    Megee added that the starting lineup for this weekend has yet to be determined, but that the coaches would let the players know on their way to Florida. According to Ludwig, all of the freshmen have been on the mound and could find themselves on this year’s pitching staff.

    “The freshman class will be able to contribute,” Lally said. “They are talented and are ready to compete now.”

    Columbia was the run away winner in the Lou Gehrig Division last season with a five game lead over the second place team. Dartmouth, who won the Rolfe Division for the third consecutive year and the Ivy title, had the highest overall winning percentage in the Ivy League last year. The Big Green won the division last year with a three game margin over Harvard and Brown. The Bulldogs had a 0–4 record against Dartmouth last year, and may have trouble with the team again this year. Kyle Hendricks and Kyle Hunter return this year to the Big Green pitching staff, one that led the country in fewest walks per nine innings last season.

    The Bulldogs will kick off their season on Saturday at 4 p.m. at the RussMatt Invitational in Winter Haven, Florida.

  8. M. BASKETBALL | Elis win two to end non-league play

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    After a three game slump, the men’s basketball team capped off winter break with a two-game winning streak.

    In their last non-conference game of the season, the Bulldogs (7–7) took down the Baruch Bearcats (8–6) 85–57 Saturday afternoon in the John J. Lee Amphitheater after narrowly defeating Holy Cross 77–76 on Wednesday. Center Greg Mangano ’12 led Yale against the Bearcats with 18 points and 11 rebounds, his fifth double-double of the season.

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    The matchup with Baruch was the Elis’ fifth and final game of the winter break, which got off to a rough start with three straight losses. They lost 71–62 to Sacred Heart (7–8), 60–44 at the hands of Stanford (9–5), and 62–57 to Lehigh (9–7).

    “I think we just need to get our confidence back,” forward Rhett Anderson ’12 said at the time. “We had a winning record… since then we’ve lost three. We need to get that feeling back.”

    The Bulldogs broke the losing streak last Wednesday with a 77–76 thrilling overtime victory over Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. Guard Austin Morgan ’13 converted a three-point play in the waning seconds of overtime to lead the Elis to their first win in 28 days.

    Three days later against Baruch, the Bulldogs came out strong to win their second in a row. Five consecutive points from Mangano and bank shots from Morgan and Kreisberg helped Yale begin a 9–2 run. Three minutes later, a Michael Grace ’13 18-foot jump shot gave the Elis an 18–9 advantage. Bearcat guard CJ Jurewicz-Johnson then countered with six straight points to shrink the Yale advantage to three.

    “We tried to penetrate and dump some passes off,” head coach James Jones said. “That hurt us.”

    But Yale’s bench put the Elis back on track. Off the bench, guard Sam Martin ’13 and Anderson hit big shots to start a 12–2 run that would give the Bulldogs a 13-point advantage. Supported by an enthusiastic visiting crowd, Baruch fought back and capitalized on three Yale turnovers and closed the gap to 30–24. However, the Bulldogs regained control behind three-pointers from Morgan and Katz. The Elis entered the break with a 39–26 advantage. The team used nine assists to shoot 56 percent in the first half and held the Bearcats to 36.4 percent shooting.

    “We stress making each other better, making the extra pass,” Mangano said. “That’s when we’re at our best.”

    The Bulldogs’ teamwork was demonstrated five minutes into the second half. Leading 47–34, forward Reggie Willhite ’12 fed forward Jeremiah Kreisberg ’14 in the low post. The freshman converted a low post turnaround bank shot. On the ensuing Baruch possession, the Bulldogs created a steal, allowing Willhite to throw down a fast break slam dunk. Morgan then picked up an errant Baruch pass and fired a fast break alley oop pass in Willhite’s direction. Although Willhite was unable to convert the layup, a trailing Mangano tipped home the the miss. The minute long sequence started a 13–0 Yale run that put the game out of the Bearcats’ reach.

    Yale played a stellar second half in which twelve Elis scored as the team outscored Baruch 46–31. In addition, the Bulldogs did not turn the ball over after committing nine first-half turnovers.

    “We have shown that we’re capable of playing at a very high level,” Jones said. “The consistency is the question.”

    Mangano added 3 blocks to his double-double. Guard Brian Katz ’12 recorded a career-high 16 points in 11 minutes. Kreisberg was also in double figures with 11 points. The freshman has reached double digits in points in each of his last four games.

    “Jeremiah’s been playing great,” Mangano said. “As a freshman, it’s tough to do that.”

    Baruch guard Tammer Farid led the visitors with 14 points. Forward Chris Beauchamp, the Bearcats’ leading scorer, was held to 10 points.

    The Bulldogs begin Ivy League conference play next Saturday against Brown at 2 p.m. in Providence, R.I.

  9. BASEBALL | Elis looking to make noise

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    With a disappointing last-place finish in the Ivy League’s Rolfe Division last season, the baseball team is looking forward to a fresh start this spring, as they kick off their season at Maryland-Baltimore County this coming weekend. The team ended the 2008-’09 season with a 13–24 record, including a 7–13 performance in the Ivy League, tying Columbia for second to last in the conference and only beating out Penn (5–15).

    After three games against UMBC, the Bulldogs will head south to compete in the RussMatt Invitational from March 9 to 16, in which they will take the field against Rhode Island, Miami (Ohio), Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Army, Indiana and Bucknell, for a total of eight games The Elis will then play two doubleheaders at Hartford to finish out spring break. But Ivy League play does not start until April 3, when the Bulldogs face Columbia.

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    Even though last year’s team was anchored by Major League Baseball draftee Brandon Josselyn ’09, who had a season 3.41 ERA to lead the Bulldogs’ pitching staff, current captain Joe Castaldi ’10 said the squad was plagued by inconsistent pitching.

    “We walked way too many guys,” he said. “We just need to throw more strikes and not walk as many guys as we did last year.”

    Last season the Elis finished with a 6.82 ERA — seventh in the Ivy League. But Andy Megee ’11 said he thinks this year’s pitching will yield better results with Pat Ludwig ’12 and Vinny Lally ’11 returning for the Bulldogs. Brook Hart ’11, a quarterback for the Yale football team, will also join the Elis on their pitching staff.

    “He’s a great addition to our team,” Lally said of Hart. “It can never hurt to have extra arms, and he’s a skilled pitcher so far.”

    Princeton and Cornell took the top-two spots in the Gehrig Division, but Dartmouth, which took first place in the Rolfe Division last year and beat Cornell for the Ivy League Championship, will once again be the favorite this season. The Big Green return their entire pitching staff from last year, and they are the magazine Baseball America’s preseason favorite to win the conference this year.

    But Castaldi remains optimistic about Yale’s chances. With most of the Eli roster returning this year, he said he hopes the Bulldogs improve on some of the inconsistencies from last year’s inexperienced team. He added that more consistent defense will come from this year’s experienced infield.

    “I think our infield is the best it’s been since I’ve been here,” Castaldi said. “We’ve had a lot of guys in the infield that are two-, three-, four-year starters now. They expect to make every play, and it really shows in how they prepare for practice and games. They’re very consistent, and they’re just confident out there.”

    The Bulldogs return their two most dangerous bats in Megee and Trygg Larsson-Danforth ’10. Last season, Megee had a .329 batting average, 16 RBIs and four triples, while Larsson-Danforth, last season’s first-team All-Ivy first baseman, batted a team-high .344, with seven home runs and 37 RBIs.

    “We’ve grown up a lot and there’s a lot of guys who are ready to step up,” Megee said.

    The Bulldogs begin their three-game series against UMBC on Saturday.