CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Jake Suddleson delivered a walk-off double in the bottom of the 14th inning to give Harvard a 10-9 victory over the Columbia baseball team to cap a six-run comeback Sunday. With the loss, the Lions and Crimson are tied for first place in the Ivy League title race at 12-6. Columbia (17-19) can still clinch a spot in the Ivy League Playoff series with one win over Penn next weekend.
Chandler Bengtson went deep twice in the ballgame, bringing his season total to 11 on the year to tie the fifth highest single-season total in program history. The senior's 10 homers in conference play this season is an Ivy League record and Bengtson now has 31 dingers in his three-plus seasons with the Lions, three away from tying the Ancient Eight career record.
Columbia batted around the order and grabbed an early 5-0 lead in the top of the first. Liam McGill opened the scoring with an infield single to bring in Julian Bury from third. Ben Porter drove a ball down the leftfield line that could not be fielded cleanly, allowing two more to score, and Jack Chernow plated two more to cap the outburst. Bengtson made it 6-0 with a solo shot in the top of the second before Harvard's (23-11) bats came alive.
The Crimson started the third with three straight extra-base hits and Suddleson's RBI groundout cut the deficit in half. However, Chernow and Bengtson each recorded home runs in the sixth and seventh innings to extend the margin to 8-3.
A big turning point came in the bottom of the seventh with Ben Skinner leading things off. Skinner hit a ball to AJ DiFillipo in left, who dove to try and make the catch, but was ruled a trap. The Harvard leadoff man wound up on second base and after another base-hit, Patrick McColl doubled to make it 8-4 and Suddleson jacked a three-run blast to pull the Crimson within a run.
After a pitching change, an error gave Harvard an extra chance and Matt Thomas made the Lions pay with a two-run homer to put the Crimson on top, 9-8.
DiFillipo exacted a little revenge in the eighth, doubling off the wall in right to knot things up, scoring Joshua Solomon, who was beaned during his pinch-hit appearance to lead things off.
From there it was a battle of the bullpens with Dan Harrington working three scoreless frames with four strikeouts for the Lions. Columbia had a golden opportunity to go back in front in the 13th, putting two in scoring position with one out, but a fielder's choice kept the Lions off the board, and after a walk loaded the bases, a line drive from McGill hung up just long enough for Skinner to make a grab in center to keep things squared up.
In the 14th, it only took a single from McColl up the middle and then Suddleson's two-bagger to end the four-hour, 20-minute thriller.
Leo Pollack pitched three solid innings of relief, but allowed the winning run to score to drop to 0-1.
Four Harvard relievers combined to keep Columbia off the board in the final 6.2 frames. Jake Forte earned the win, facing four batters in the top of the 14th.
The Lions have one final midweek contest at Army in West Point on Wednesday, May 5. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. at Doubleday Field.
