First row, from left: bat boy Lance Jarosz, Trevor Brown, Spencer Tingle, Sam Rosenfield, Rory VanDorpe. Second row: Cam Madelone, Riley Sennott, Jamie Barret, Scott Jarosz, Chris Culkins, William Sprague, Drew Femino. Third row: Manager and Coach Mark VanDorpe, Coach Joe Jarosz, Coach Rob Rosenfield and Head Coach Alex Sprague. (Courtesy photo)
On Saturday evening, July 2, Harvard took on the only other undefeated team in the tournament, Boylston. Harvard pitchers Riley Sennott, Scott Jarosz, and Rory VanDorpe held the Boylston hitters to one run while Harvard’s Chris Culkins’ solo homerun ensured a tie.
On Sunday morning, July 3, Harvard took on Holden’s All-Star team to clinch a spot in the semifinals in an 11-3 decision.
The game was scoreless until Holden brought in three runs in the top of the fifth inning. Harvard answered back in the bottom of the fifth with an 11-run spree. Cam Madelone started Harvard off with a single to center field. Holden pitcher Jacob Sailneur then walked Rory VanDorpe. With runners on first and second, Riley Sennot hit a single, to advance the runners and load the bases. Riley Fitzsimmons was hit in the shoulder by Holden’s Sailneur and brought in Harvard’s first run, Cam Madelone.
The Harvard hitters gained momentum from there and Drew Femino hit a single deep into center field to score VanDorpe and Sennott. Holden then brought in relief pitcher C.J. Sequeira, who walked Jamie Barrett. With no outs, Harvard’s Spencer Tingle got on first with a dropped ball by Holden’s shortstop, scoring Fitzsimmons. Trevor Brown then deep singled to right field to bring in Barrett and advance Tingle to third base. Tingle then stole home on a passed ball. Next up was Will Sprague, who was unintentionally walked by Sequeira to put runners on first and second base. Sam Rosenfield took his turn and hit a blazing triple to bring in Brown and Sprague. Scott Jarosz then hit a fielder’s choice RBI to score Rosenfield. Still with no outs, power hitter Chris Culkins blasted a solo home run to complete the 11-run spree. The next three batters were retired on infield hits to end the inning, but that spree was all Harvard needed to seal the 11-3 victory.
Starting pitcher Scott Jarosz gave up three hits in his 45-pitch outing, but is still not scored upon in the tournament. Winning Pitcher Rory VanDorpe gave up six hits and three runs in his 46-pitch outing and was awarded the game ball for his second winning relief effort of the tournament; a game ball was given to Chris Culkins for his second home run of the tournament.
After the Sunday game, Harvard Coach Alex Sprague commented, “The wins this weekend were total team efforts. Our pitching has been superb, and today everyone’s bats were at work. I am really proud of this team.”
If Harvard beats West Boylston, they will play in the championship game on Friday night, July 8, for the title.
