In 2009, the Wall Street Journal wrote an article calling Breslow “the smartest man in baseball, if not the entire world.” Indeed, his accomplishments both on and off the field speak for themselves. 

Craig Breslow was born at Yale New Haven Hospital and grew up in Trumbull, CT, less than a 30-minute drive from Yale’s campus. Although Yale was close to home, Breslow said that proximity was not why he decided to become a Bulldog. 

“Yale was always this elite institution that I would never be able to go to,” Breslow told the News. “But my academic achievement merited consideration from Ivy league schools and pretty early on [Yale] became the most aggressive recruiters. Ultimately when it came time to make the decision it felt like it was important to use baseball to pursue the best education I could.”

Breslow arrived at Yale in 1998 as a student-athlete with the intent of studying medicine and continuing his baseball career. From the age of 11, Breslow knew that he wanted to study medicine — his sister, 13 at the time, had been diagnosed with pediatric thyroid cancer. The experience had a lasting impact and motivated him to study molecular biophysics and biochemistry while at Yale, and ultimately to think about pursuing a professional career in medicine after graduation. 

While an undergraduate at Yale, Breslow pitched for the Bulldogs on the men’s baseball team. He had an impressive four-year run, and notably as a senior, had the lowest ERA in the Ivy League with a 2.56 Earned Run Average, or ERA. 

Still interested in pursuing a career in medicine, Breslow applied to medical school and was accepted into New York University Medical School and planned to attend after graduation. His medical school plans were interrupted, though, by his dream of becoming a professional baseball player. 

Breslow told the News he consulted with teammates and family members about his decision to continue playing baseball after Yale or pursue a career in medicine. Matt McCarthy ’02, a teammate at Yale, gave him lasting advice.

“I remember asking him, ‘How did you know you were done?’ and he said it was really easy,” Breslow recounted. “‘I could turn on a TV and be like, yeah, that was fun when I played, but if you ever turn on a TV and think that could be you out there, then you are not ready to give it up.’ And that really really hit me. I just felt like I could still contribute.”

Breslow made his decision. He headed to Milwaukee.

In 2002, Breslow was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers and began his career in MLB. He would go on to pitch for 12 seasons with the San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Guardians, Minnesota Twins, Oakland Athletics, Arizona Diamondbacks and Miami Marlins. At one point while pitching in MLB, Breslow was the only Yale alum playing major-league baseball. 

While pursuing his career as a professional athlete, Breslow started the Strike 3 Foundation in 2008 with the mission of raising money and awareness for pediatric cancer research and treatment, while also staying involved in the medical world, even though he decided to no longer pursue medicine as a career. 

“I had always thought my impact on the medical community would be as a physician,” Breslow told the News. “But as my baseball career took hold and I realized that pursuing medical school and a career in the medical profession was getting pushed further out, I wanted to remain connected in some way.” 

The Strike 3 Foundation’s primary fundraiser is a wiffle ball tournament at Little Fenway in Vermont, which they host each fall. Little Fenway is made up of replica Fenway, Wrigley and Field of Dreams wiffle ball stadiums. 

In 2008, the Strike 3 Foundation also pledged to give $500,000 over the span of five years to Yale New Haven Hospital, which, according to the website, was used to found a Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplantation Program, the first of its kind in Connecticut.

In 2009, in a Wall Street Journal article titled “Who Has the Brainiest Team in Baseball?” the WSJ called Breslow the “smartest man in baseball, if not the entire world.” The article tried to understand if there was a correlation between education and victories by looking at players who went to four-year U.S. colleges or universities and seeing which of them graduated. Players who attended elite schools were ranked more heavily. 

“In a field like professional sports where Ivy League grads are not commonplace, there is this stigma for better or for worse that attaches itself to you. Athletes get all kinds of nicknames and if ‘smartest man in baseball’ was the one that people wanted to come up for me, I could do far, far worse,” Breslow said. “I try to embrace it with all appropriate humility.”  

After his playing career as a pitcher, Breslow shifted to the front office where he now works as the Chief Baseball Officer at the Red Sox. Chief Baseball Officer puts him in the position to direct all of Red Sox baseball operations. Breslow takes over for another Yale graduate, Chaim Bloom ’04, who held the position before him.

Breslow is familiar with the Red Sox organization, as he pitched for the Red Sox for four years in 2006 and again from 2012-15. He helped the team win the World Series in 2013. 

Craig Breslow has had a very successful career with Major League Baseball on and off the field, giving some of the credit to his time at Yale. 

“The network, community, and relationships I built at Yale, like Theo and others, as well as the diversity, world view and perspective you get at a place like Yale, drove me to be eminently curious and introspective,” Breslow said, speaking of former Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein ’95, when asked how his Yale experience has helped his work in the Red Sox front office. 

The Red Sox will begin Spring Training this year in February at their spring training camp in Fort Myers, Florida. Opening Day will be held on April 9, 2024 against the Baltimore Orioles at home in Boston at Fenway Park.

Correction, Feb. 6: A previous version of this article called molecular biophysics and biochemistry a double major; it is one course of study commonly referred to as MB&B. 

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Vincent Jr.’s father, Francis Vincent Sr. ’31, was captain of the baseball and football teams during his time at Yale. Vincent Jr. ascended to the role of MLB commissioner following the death of Angelo Bartlett Giamatti ’60 GRD ’64 — Yale’s 19th president — and resigned three years later after facing criticism from Major League team owners for his handling of labor issues. 

The endowment will assume the costs from Yale paying for the baseball head coach’s salary. According to Yale’s For Humanity capital campaign site, which outlines minimum gift levels for endowed funds, a minimum of $1,500,000 is required to endow an athletic coach’s position. 

“We are grateful for the generous gift that Fay Jr. ’63 made,” Victoria Chun, the director of athletics, wrote to the News. “This will not only provide great support for Yale Baseball but honors the memory of Fay ’31 and his tremendous legacy as a Yale athlete and student.”

Baseball head coach Brian Hamm pointed to the Vincent family’s “rich history in the baseball community,” lauding the endowment as a “tremendous honor.” 

Hamm added that the endowment allows Vincent Sr.’s legacy to be “embedded into the roots” of Yale’s baseball program.

“Fay Jr. ’63 wanted a way to honor his father’s leadership, commitment, and love for Yale, and with this gift, Fay ’31 and his legacy will live on through the Yale Baseball program,” Hamm wrote.

Vincent Jr. attributes the seeds of his present-day donation of  “several million dollars” to a moment that occurred about 30 years ago when, after delivering a talk about former renowned Yale swimming coach Robert Kiphuth, then-undergraduate student and baseball player Thomas Hutchison ’94 approached him to seek mentorship.

After graduating from Yale Law School, Vincent Jr. went on to become the president and chief executive officer of Columbia Pictures in 1978. When the company was acquired by the Coca-Cola company in 1982, he later became the senior vice-president of Coca-Cola as well as president and CEO of its entertainment sector. According to Vincent Jr, it was his ownership of a large sum of Coca-Cola stock that allowed him to endow the baseball coach position at Yale.

Vincent Jr. added that the plan was cemented after Hamm and Hutchison visited his home in Florida last month and pitched him the idea.

“This is about a son trying to do something that would memorialize his father,” Vincent told the News. “And I’m doing it for my father in a way that I think combines his great interest in sports with the fact that he was a poor kid who had a scholarship at Yale and turned out to have a very fine life and career.”

According to the University’s For Humanity capital campaign site, Yale has endowed 20 head coaching positions in the past few years.

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The Bulldogs fell to the Bobcats 11–4 in a run-packed game. Over the weekend, the Blue and White then continued Ivy play with games against the University of Pennsylvania, 23–12, 11–4 Ivy, at Meiklejohn Stadium in Philadelphia with a double header on Saturday and a game on Sunday. 

“We are showing so much progress in areas that we have worked on all year,” Coach Brian Hamm wrote to the News. “Our pitching was outstanding this week, credit goes to our veteran pitchers for their leadership and our pitching coach Chris Wojick for developing our pitchers and putting together an effective plan against opponents’ hitters.”

Bryant Reese ’24 started on the mound for the Bulldogs in their midweek game against the Bobcats. Quinn Cleary ’23, Ethan Lewis ’26, Josh Richardson ’24, Jimmy Chatfield ’24 and Jamis DeKay ’24 all pitched for the Elis on Wednesday. 

Scoring didn’t get started until the top of the fifth when the Bulldogs scored off an error by the Bobcat’s third baseman. Max Imhoff ’25 brought in the run for the Blue and White. In the top of the sixth Jeff Pierantoni ’24 singled to left center, which brought both Davis Hanson ’26 and Jake Williams ’24 home, bringing the score to 3–0. 

In the bottom of the sixth, the Bobcats brought in five runs, bringing the score to 5–3 to start the seventh. In the top of the eighth, the Bulldogs brought in their fourth and last run of the game after AJ Gaich ’23 stole third and then was able to come home off an error by the Bobcats’ third baseman. 

However, the Bobcats then brought in the last six runs of the game in the bottom of the eighth, securing the victory. The ninth inning remained scoreless and the final score of the game was 11–4.

On Saturday, the Bulldogs started the morning with a 4–0 win over the Quakers, but fell in the afternoon in a close 1–0 loss. 

In their match in the morning, the Blue and White scored the first run of the game in the top of the first after Chatfield doubled down the left field line, bringing Gaich home. The Bulldogs brought another run in after Swank doubled down the left field line, which brought Alec Atkinson ’24 home.

The score stayed 2–0 throughout the game until the top of the eighth when the Eli’s brought the last two runs of the game in. Gaich brought in the third run and Chatfield brought in the fourth after stealing home. The Quakers remained scoreless.  

“Game one was definitely the highlight of the weekend,” Reese wrote to the News. “Seeing our hitters score a couple of runs early against Penn’s formidable pitching staff and then watching our own staff shut them down for 9 innings gave the whole team energy.” 

In the second game on Saturday, the game remained scoreless until the bottom of the ninth when the Quakers sneaked a run in off a wild pitch to win the game 1–0.

Colton Shaw ’25 started on the mound for the Bulldogs and threw eight scoreless innings in the afternoon.

In their last game of the series, the Quakers got the scoring started in the bottom of the first, bringing seven runs in. The Bulldogs brought their first and only run of the game home in the top of the fourth after Williams doubled down the left field line, which brought Gaich home. 

In the bottom of the sixth, Penn brought in three more runs, making the score 10–1. Penn then scored the final run of the game in the bottom of the eighth, bringing the game score to 11–1.

Shaw expressed his excitement about the team’s upcoming games against Princeton on Apr. 29 and 30.

“This is obviously a big one for us so I’m looking forward to how we compete,” Shaw wrote to the News. “We have been competing these past couple of weeks and some things haven’t been going our way, but that hasn’t seemed to stop us. We are going to bring that same intensity and I’m excited for this next challenge.”

Looking ahead, the Bulldogs will host Princeton University (18–17, 5–2 Ivy) in a three-game series at the George H.W. Bush ’48 Field at home in New Haven.  

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The Yale men’s baseball team (13–16, 7–5 Ivy) competed in a mid-week game against the University of Hartford (2–24, 0–0 CCC). The Bulldogs beat the Hawks in an 8–4 win. The Bulldogs then got back on track in Ivy play against Dartmouth College (1–27, 0–12 Ivy) with a three game sweep against the Big Green. 

“Getting the sweep this weekend was exactly what we needed,” player Tommy Martin ’25 wrote to the News. “Hopefully we can use that momentum for our midweek at [Quinnipiac] and for the Penn series this weekend.”

On Wednesday, in the bottom of the first, the Hawks scored the first run of the game with a homer to right field. In the top of the third, the Bulldogs tied it up with a run from Ben Metzner ’23 off a single to center field from Davis Hanson ’26. In the bottom of the third, the Hawks brought another run in, but in the top of the fourth, the Blue and White brought in three runs off Metzner, Max Imhoff ’25 and Martin to bring the Bulldogs to a 4–2 lead. 

In the top of the fifth, Carson Swank ’23 singled to left field which brought Jeff Pierantoni ’24 home. In the top of the sixth, Martin brought in his second run of the game off a single from Jake Williams ’24 to left field. In the bottom of the seventh, the Hawks brought in two runs, but the Bulldogs were still ahead 6–4. The Bulldogs scored the last two runs of the game in the top of the eighth off a homer from Hanson which brought Hayden Sobecki ’25 home. 

Mick Kelley ’25, Josh Richardson ’24, Ethan Lewis ’26, Mark Capell ’25 and Jimmy Chatfield ’24 pitched for the Bulldogs on Wednesday. 

Over the weekend, the Bulldogs kicked off their three game series against Dartmouth in Hanover, New Hampshire with a double header on Saturday. In their first game on Saturday, the Bulldogs won in a run-packed game, beating the Big Green 16–3. In their second game, the Blue and White rallied to win 7–2. 

“We need to continue the approach and systems that helped us be successful in the Dartmouth Series,” coach Brian Hamm wrote to the News. “Our approach has helped us succeed in a number of ways to put us in the mix to make the Ivy Tournament and now we are performing more consistently. We were so close to getting results out of the Columbia series and we made adjustments and stuck with our approach and were rewarded with three wins against Dartmouth.”

In the morning on Saturday, Reid Easterly ’24 started on the mound for the Bulldogs. In the top of the second, the Blue and White started the scoring for the game with a run from Pierantoni and Williams off a single from Milner. In the top of the fourth, ​​Martin brought a run in for the Blue and White off a triple to right center from Metzner.

The Big Green scored their first run of the game in the bottom of the fifth from a homer to left field. In the top of the sixth, the Blue and White brought in two runs to make the score 5–1 off of a double from Pierantoni, which brought Hanson home, and a homer from Martin to right field. 

In the bottom of the eighth, Capell relieved Easterly on the mound. The Bulldogs did not score any more runs until the top of the ninth when the Blue and White brought in 11 runs, bringing the final score of the game to 16–3. Atkinson, Milner, Chatfield, Hanson, Williams, Pierantoni, Martin and Metzner all brought in runs for the Bulldogs.

In their second game on Saturday, the Bulldogs beat the Big Green 7–2. Scoring did not get started for either team until the bottom of the sixth when Dartmouth brought one run home. In the bottom of the seventh, the Big Green brought in their second and final run of the game off a dropped fly by the second baseman which brought Zackarie Casebonne home. 

The Bulldogs scored their first run in the top of the eighth after Williams singled to center field, which brought Sobecki home. In the top of the ninth, the Bulldogs tied it up after Metzner scored on a throwing error by the third baseman. The game stayed tied into the bottom of the ninth and continued into extra innings. 

In the top of the tenth, the Blue and White brought five runs in, winning the game with a final score of 7–2. 

In their final game of the weekend on Sunday, the Blue and White rallied to win a low scoring 1–0 game. The first and only run of the game came after Hanson walked, Williams advanced to second and Chatfield advanced to third, which brought Atkinson home.

“I think my personal highlight of the weekend was our pitching staff’s performance in Sunday’s game, throwing a shutout,” Capell told the News. “It showed how far we have come from where we began this year and it is something that is amazing to be a part of. Couple that with having a beautiful 75 degree and sunny atmosphere, and getting the weekend sweep, the feeling was unmatched. As a whole, it puts us in a position to control our own destiny for the Ivy League playoff which is one step closer to our team goal.”

Daniel Cohen ’26, Bryant Reese ’24, Richardson, and Capell were on the mound on Sunday for the Blue and White. All four of them helped prevent any tying runs for the Big Green with their solid defense. 

Looking ahead, the Bulldogs will compete against Quinnipiac University (13–19, 7–5 MAAC) on Wednesday in Hamden, Connecticut and continue Ivy play in a three game series against the University of Pennsylvania (20–11, 9–3 Ivy) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania over the weekend. 

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Although the Bulldogs fought hard, they fell to the Lions in a three-game sweep in games on Saturday and Sunday. 

The Bulldogs had a doubleheader to kick off the games Saturday, losing the first game in a tight 1–0 loss. In the afternoon, the Bulldogs fought hard, but fell again by just a single run in a 3–2 loss.

“I think we learned that we are a good team that can compete with anyone, but in doing that we also learned that in order to compete with anyone, we need to take care of the margins,” pitcher Colton Shaw ’25 wrote to the News. “Little details caught up to us in all three games and if we take care of those, who is to say we don’t come out of that series feeling a little different. Just need to come out better next weekend.”

Both teams got off to a slow start in the first game on Saturday, combining for just five hits and zero runs across the opening three innings. In the top of the fourth, the Lions scored the first and only run of the game as Andy Blake reached home plate on a passed ball.

Daniel Cohen ’26 started on the mound for the Bulldogs in the morning and was relieved by Josh Richardson ’24 in the top of the sixth. Despite strong performances on the mound, the offense failed to drive in a run to even the score.

In the second game of their doubleheader on Saturday, the Lions hit a homer in the top of the first to kick off the scoring. In the bottom of the second, the Bulldogs tied up the game off a double to left-center from Beck Milner ’26, which brought Tommy Martin ’25 home. In the top of the third, the Lions struck again and gained a 3–1 lead with a double down the left-field line bringing one run in, and another run off an error. 

No runs were then scored until the bottom of the fifth when Jeff Pierantoni ’24 singled, bringing Jimmy Chatfield ’24 home. Chatfield represented the last run of the game against the Lions, bringing the final score to 3–2. 

Shaw pitched a long nine innings for the Bulldogs, allowing two unearned runs and four hits. He also had six strikeouts while on the mound. 

“I think our pitchers really competed for us this weekend,” Martin wrote to the News. “They did their job, but unfortunately we had a few too many mistakes and couldn’t score as many runners as we needed to.”

In the last game of the series on Sunday, the Bulldogs fell to the Lions 5–4 in a tight back-and-forth game. 

The Lions scored the first run of the game in the top of the first, but the Bulldogs came back to tie the score in the bottom of the inning off an error by the third baseman, bringing Chatfield in for an unearned run. In the top of the fourth, the Lions scored, making the score 2–1; They then scored again in the top of the fifth off a double which brought another run in. 

In the bottom of the sixth, Hanson singled to left-center, bringing Chatfield home for his second run of the game. 

In the top of the eighth, the Lions seemed to pull away, scoring two more runs to bring the game score to 5–2. The Bulldogs inched closer to the Lions in the bottom of the eighth with a run scored from Martin. The last run of the game came on an unearned run from Carson Swank ’23, making the final score of the game on Sunday 5–4. 

“This week we plan to focus on winning the margins,” Milner wrote to the News. “Limiting walks, errors, and runs that are otherwise preventable. Losing three games this weekend by a mere one run each shows us just how important each out is in the game. If we can strive for perfection here, we will find success.”

During the games last weekend, the Bulldogs invited youth baseball teams, family, friends and others from New Haven and surrounding areas to come and meet the team. The children in attendance were able to run the bases after the double header on Saturday.  

“My highlight of the weekend was the Kids’ Day we held on Saturday after Game 2 of the doubleheader,” Milner said. “Although we lost both games that day, everyone got together with smiles on our faces as the kids ran the bases. They were all so excited to be on the field, and their joy was a reminder for me why I play the game. We signed autographs and met the kids. All in all, it was a heartwarming experience.” 

Looking ahead, the Bulldogs will compete against the University of Hartford (2–20, 0–0 CCC) at Dunkin’ Park in Hartford. The Bulldogs will then look to get back on track in Ivy play against Dartmouth College (1–23, 0–9 Ivy) in Hanover, New Hampshire over the weekend.  

The post BASEBALL: Bulldogs drop three games in Ivy series appeared first on Yale Daily News.

They started in California, playing games in San Francisco and Stockton before going south to play in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Finally, they returned home to New Haven to continue their season play. 

The Bulldogs competed in non-conference games against the University of San Francisco (10–10, 1–5 AAC), University of the Pacific (8–14, 1–5 WCC), McNeese State (16–8, 1–2 Southland) and Quinnipiac University (7–13, 1–2 MAAC) before opening conference play against Cornell University (2–13, 2–1 Ivy).  

In the first game of their doubleheader against San Francisco on Saturday, the Blue and White rallied from an early 1–0 deficit to beat the Dons 3–1, but fell in the next two matchups 4–3 and 13–6. 

Their early-season skid continued against the University of the Pacific, as they fell to the Powercats in a high-scoring nail-biter by a score of 11–10. During the southern portion of their road trip, the Bulldogs dropped all three games against McNeese.

Even after returning home to New Haven, the Blue and White’s struggles continued in a tight 1–0 loss against Quinnipiac.

“The most challenging part of our spring trip was the amount of time that we spent on the road,” head coach Brian Hamm wrote to the News. “We had three very difficult travel days that took a lot out of us, and we played against good competition which is down more than we had anticipated. It took a couple of days being back during the second week of break for us to catch our breath.”

In the last series of the long break from classes, the Bulldogs competed in three games against Cornell. The two teams had a game on Friday and a doubleheader on Sunday at the George H.W. Bush ’48 Field in New Haven. The Elis hoped to rebound as they opened conference play, the most important part of their season.

In the first game of the series, Jimmy Chatfield ’24 got the scoring started with a homer to left field in the fourth inning to bring Jeff Pierantoni ’24 home, giving the Bulldogs a 2–0 lead. In the fifth, Pierantoni singled to right field to drive teammate Jake Williams ’24 home, scoring the third and last run for the Bulldogs. 

The Bulldogs held the lead until the top of sixth, when the Big Red scored four runs to take a 5–3 lead. The Bulldogs were not able to even the score with any further runs and the game ended 5–3.

In the top of the eighth, Daniel Cohen ’26 relieved Reid Easterly ’24 on the mound, and right-handed pitcher Colton Shaw ’25 had four strikeouts in 2 innings. 

In their first game on Sunday, the Bulldogs got their season back on track with a dominant 12–2 victory. The Bulldogs blew the game wide open in the first inning, driving in eight early runs. Shaw had a two-run single, bringing Davis Hanson ’26 and Chatfield home. Williams also had a two-run single in the first, bringing Ben Metzner ’23 and Shaw home.

“In the second game I felt we had a lot of energy and came together as a team to bounce back from the game one loss,” Hayden Sobecki ’25 said.

Easterly started on the mound for the Blue and White and pitched a strong game. In the top of the eighth, Cleary took over for Easterly. 

In their night game on Sunday, the Bulldogs fell with a close loss of 7–5. Cornell started strong in the first two innings, scoring five runs and taking a 5–1 lead into the third. 

In the bottom of the third, Williams singled to center field, bringing Alec Atkinson ’24 home and scoring the second run for the Bulldogs. Atkinson homered for the Blue and White in the bottom of the fourth, bringing the score to 5–3 against the Big Red Bears. 

The score stayed 5–3 until the top of the seventh when the Big Red homered to left field to bring a run home, making the score 6–3. In the bottom of the eighth, Shaw doubled, bringing Pierantoni and Hanson home. Pierantoni and Hanson scored the last two runs for the Blue and White, finishing the game with a close final score of 7–5.

“We have been attacking the little things because we know that is what will win us games,” Shaw wrote to the News. “Executing the small details on both sides of the ball has been crucial for our success so far, so if we can hammer those things in now we will be in good shape for these upcoming games.”

Looking ahead, the Bulldogs will continue their season with a game against Sacred Heart (11–9, 7–2 Northeast) on Wednesday. The Blue and White will then continue Ivy play with a three game series against Brown University (3–14, 1–2 Ivy) this weekend.

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The Bulldogs won their first game but ultimately fell to the Spiders on Sunday. 

“​​I feel like getting back on the field and seeing everyone compete again was really special,” Colton Shaw ’25 wrote to the News. “Getting some of the new guys involved as well as seeing the upperclassmen play again was something I had been looking forward to for a while. I think focusing on the little things in practice will get us over the hump. Taking care of the small details like sharpening up our plays and throwing strikes will help us compete at a higher level.”

On Friday, the Blue and White secured a 9–6 win over the Spiders to begin their season on the right foot. First year Beck Milner ’26 got things started with a homer to center field to bring Shaw and Jimmy Chatfield ’24 home, making it a 3–0 lead in the top of the first. This was Milner’s first official at-bat as a Bulldog. 

In the top of the third, Jeff Pierantoni ’24 was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Pierantoni advanced to first and brought Carson Swank ’23 home, bringing the Bulldogs to a 4–3 lead. In the top of the eighth, Shaw homered to left field, bringing AJ Gaich ’23 home and advancing the Bulldogs to an 8–5 lead. 

“My favorite moment of the weekend was our first practice at Richmond on Thursday,” Milner wrote to the News. “After an early morning and a long day of travel, finally reaching the warm weather, the buzz around the team was incredible.”

Chatfield started on the mound for the Bulldogs, with Easterly relieving in the top of the third. Rookie Tate Evans ’26 made his debut as a closer and pitched a scoreless ninth for the Bulldogs. 

The Bulldogs’ 9–6 victory was head coach Brian Hamm’s first win in a Yale uniform. 

On Sunday, the Bulldogs had a doubleheader, ultimately falling to the Spiders in both games. 

To start the first game on Sunday, both Gaich and Chatfield homered in the top of the first to give the Bulldogs an early 2–0 lead, and it seemed like the Bulldogs would keep their momentum going. In the top of the third, Chatfield singled, bringing two runs home.  

However, the Spiders fought back, keeping the game close throughout, and the Bulldogs held just a 6–5 lead after six innings.

In the top of the seventh, Shaw scored off of a double down the left field line by Swank, in what would turn out to be the Bulldogs’ last run of the game. Trailing 7–5 with just three innings to play, the Richmond offense sprung to life, scoring four runs in the bottom of the seventh to reclaim the lead.

Richmond tacked on two more in the bottom of eighth, and the Spiders’ defense stifled the Bulldogs late, giving up no runs in the last two innings.

The Bulldogs had eight hits and seven RBIs in the 11–7 defeat. 

“We need to continue to focus on our approach at the plate,” Hayden Sobecki ’25 wrote to the News. “We did a solid job of executing this past weekend at Richmond, but there’s more we can improve on leading into this weekend.”

In their second game of the day on Sunday, Martin scored the first run for the Bulldogs off of a single from Davis Hanson ’26 to left field. In the top of the fourth, Max Imhoff ’25 singled up the middle to bring Gaich and Robert Ciulla ’23 home. 

While the Bulldogs offense maintained a steady pace, the Spiders’ bats were explosive in the last game of the series. Three home runs in the first three innings set the tone for the game, and the early lead proved insurmountable as the Spiders cruised to a 16–6 victory. 

“I am most excited to be a part of this team of players and coaches; we are having a great time working hard, competing, getting better every day, enjoying the camaraderie, and representing Yale,” Hamm said. “We are a very young team that doesn’t have much experience playing at the college level, so I am looking forward to watching us grow and improve throughout the season.”

Looking ahead, the Bulldogs will travel to Montgomery, Alambama to compete against Alabama State in a three game series, with a doubleheader on Saturday and a game on Sunday.  

The post BASEBALL: Bulldogs win opener, drop next two appeared first on Yale Daily News.

When his name was called, Walsh became the 43rd Yale player to be selected in the MLB draft. Both pitchers will be joining four other Elis who are currently playing in Minor League Baseball. Former Yale captain and infielder Simon Whiteman ’19, along with left-handed pitcher Rohan Handa ’23 are in the San Francisco Giants organization, playing for its High-A and Single-A affiliates, respectively. Another southpaw arm, Kumar Nambiar ’19, is in the Oakland Athletics’ High-A affiliate, while catcher Ryan Lavarnway ’09 is in Triple-A within the Miami Marlins organization. 

“[Walsh and Kipp] are both incredibly talented guys and really hard workers,” two-way player Jimmy Chatfield ’23 said. “It’s great when you see great things happen to good people. I am glad to call both of them my friends and to say that I got to call them my teammates for a while.”

Last season, Walsh was an All-Ivy honorable mention and the ace of the Bulldogs’ starting rotation. He started 11 games for the Elis, leading the team in strikeouts with 80, innings pitched with 65 and wins with four. Walsh also limited his opponents to a 0.237 batting average, the fifth lowest in the entire conference. In this year’s draft, Walsh was the first Ivy Leaguer to be taken and became one of only nine players in program history to be selected in the top 10 rounds.

“It’s an honor,” Walsh said about being drafted. “It’s definitely not something that I take lightly. It’s an honor to be able to represent the Ivy League and Yale. I intend to go out there, represent Yale as best as I can and do my best to make it to the big leagues. … Generally, when you think of an Ivy League institution, you don’t necessarily think athletics. The guys on the [Yale] squad now and in the past years are really trying to change that narrative.”

The 6-foot-2 native of La Grange, Illinois told the News that he had considered a professional baseball career prior to arriving at college, but credited his teammates and coaching staff at Yale for helping “make that dream into a real vision.” 

Walsh added that his support system was also key in helping him navigate the draft process. The pitcher’s journey to professional baseball began last September, when Yale played in a few pro days against other teams. From there, the right-hander received attention from Major League scouts. These individuals later remained in contact and reached out to Walsh after the end of the collegiate baseball season to invite him to pre-draft workouts, where they would assess his fit with their respective teams. 

Walsh also sought to improve his draft chances by playing in the Cape Cod Baseball League, a premier collegiate summer league and well-known stepping stone to Major League Baseball. The right-hander had a strong performance over the summer, posting a solid 2.38 earned run average with 23 strikeouts in 11.1 innings over eight games. 

All of Walsh’s hard work paid off on the second day of the 2022 Major League draft. A few picks before he was drafted, the Yale pitcher received a call from the Pittsburgh Pirates with an offer to join the organization. After consulting with his advisor and people close to him, Walsh accepted.

“It was this overwhelming wave of emotions,” Walsh said about the moment he was drafted. “It was … the realization that one of my lifelong dreams had come true. I thought back to hundreds of times where I was facing difficulty or adversity, not knowing necessarily where my career was going to go. You are just so grateful for everybody that stuck with you. Through all those ups and downs, I thought of my family, coaches, teammates, friends and everybody. They really deserve all the credit for me being able to get drafted.  When I got the phone call and was able to hug my parents, my best friends, my brother and my little sister. … It was awesome.”

Since the end of summer league, Walsh has been splitting his time between the rookie league Florida Complex League Pirates and the Bradenton Marauders in Single-A time.

“It’s been amazing,” the former Bulldog said about being in the Pirates organization. “Baseball has always been my life, but now I get the chance to actually fully commit to the game I love. It’s an exciting time to be in the Pittsburgh Pirates system. It’s a very hungry organization and everybody that I’ve met has been phenomenal as far as getting our draft class acclimated. There’s a general consensus that it’s time to break through and win a World Series [soon]. … It’s a great vibe in the organization. I love being a Pirate and I am so excited to see what my future holds, hopefully in Pittsburgh.”

Kipp also expressed similar enthusiasm when asked about his future with the Cubs organization. The former Yale starter was a leader both on the mound and in the clubhouse during his time with the Bulldogs. Last season, he was also an All-Ivy honorable mention. In conference games, he struck out 37 and walked only 10 in 43.2 innings. He was tied with Walsh for the Yale lead in wins and was second on the team in total strikeouts with 56.

The Dallas, Texas native told the News that he had always aspired to play baseball professionally, but that his dream solidified during his sophomore year at Yale after he had a strong 2020 season. Going into his senior year, Kipp had already been receiving attention from scouts. Like Walsh, he had also spent his summer playing in the Cape Cod League, where he struck out 10 and walked only one in 6.2 innings.

Former Yale baseball head coach John Stuper hinted to Kipp that there was early interest in him from the organization after speaking to Cubs Assistant General Manager and Director of Pitching Craig Breslow ’02. The Yale senior later reached an agreement with the organization, finalizing his free agent contract shortly after the 2022 MLB draft. 

“It was pretty surreal,” Kipp said about the moment he signed his free agent contract. “It means a lot to me to be a part of the Cubs — not only because of the Breslow connection, but also because my mom is from the Chicago area and grew up a die-hard Cubs fan. It honestly made it even better to hear [from the organization] and to see my mom’s reaction when I told her. To be part of such a significant organization and one that means a lot to my family is special to me.”

Though the 6-foot-6 starter mentioned that his free agent process required much independence, seeing as he negotiated his contract himself without the help of an agent, he also expressed gratitude for the support he received from his family, friends, teammates and coaches. 

Kipp spoke to the News from South Carolina, where he is currently playing for the Cubs’ Single-A affiliate, the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. Though he said “the Minor League grind is real,” requiring him to play six days a week, he added that it has also “been a blast” and that he has enjoyed spending time with his new teammates. 

However, the right-hander told the News that he was most excited about contributing to his organization. The Cubs, who took 17 pitchers out of 20 picks in this year’s draft, have been looking to expand their pitching depth and quality. Kipp will become part of this plan.

“As a minor leaguer, I’m definitely looking forward to just developing,” Kipp said. “With how much the Cubs have invested in pitching, I’m really excited to get to the instructional league … and getting in the pitching lab literally and metaphorically in terms of throwing harder and developing better pitches. During the offseason, I’ll also be training hopefully with [Walsh] and other Yale alumni. That’s really my starting point, and I also hope to use my training from the offseason to try to advance in the ranks. Then, my long-term goals as a professional player are to make it to the big leagues and make a career out of it. If I can get there and play baseball for a living, that’s a good life. It’s been my dream.”

Both Walsh and Kipp expressed their mutual appreciation for each other and happiness for their accomplishments. Walsh told the News that he considered the Texan to be like a “big brother” and that he was “one of the greatest people [he had] ever met in his life,” adding that he was thrilled to see Kipp’s hard work rewarded.

The two of them had first met when Kipp was a first year at Yale and Walsh was a senior in high school. Kipp hosted Walsh in his suite during the latter’s first official visit to the University, starting their friendship. Both pitchers are now excited to maintain their bond at the professional level.

“I could not have been happier for [Walsh],” Kipp said. “Loved that guy from the first moment I met him. He’s just full of energy, and brings so much passion and joy to the game of baseball. I always looked forward to getting out to the field and throwing with [Walsh]. He means the world to me. I’m really excited to see what he can do. The possibilities are endless.”

This year, the 2022 MLB draft took place between July 17 and July 19.

The post BASEBALL: Pitchers Michael Walsh ’23 and Grant Kipp ’22 launch professional baseball careers appeared first on Yale Daily News.

An explosive contact hitter with strong plate discipline, the 5’10’’ senior third baseman is an offensive star for the Bulldogs and a regular at the heart of the order. Though Swank’s 2019-20 rookie season was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic — playing just 10 games — his outstanding performance that year earned him the title of Best Freshman in the Ivy League by D1Baseball. Last season, Swank hit .256, drove in 27 runs and showed off his speed on the basepaths, going seven-for-seven in stolen base attempts. He also ranked in the top five on the roster for batting average, OPS, RBIs, hits and total bases.

“I am very honored and humbled that I was able to be given the opportunity [to captain the team],” Swank said. “I trust these guys with my life, and I’m very thankful that it seems like they feel the same way. There’s no other group of guys that I’d rather share the field with. For them to trust me with leading them is something that I will carry with me for the rest of my life and especially this season.”

Born and raised in Northern Virginia, Swank began playing baseball when he was five years old. Influenced by his parents’ love of sports, his early upbringing was filled with athletic exploration. In high school, his father had not only swam and ran track, but also played lacrosse, football and baseball. His mother had been part of the track and basketball teams in high school. In addition to playing on the diamond, Swank spent a considerable amount of time on the gridiron and the basketball court as a child.

The Yale senior’s proximity to the nation’s capital also gave him plenty of exposure to the Washington Nationals, a team he eventually became a devoted fan of. He credits this connection, along with “being around family and friends that played [and enjoyed] baseball so much,” as some of the reasons he first began to feel attached to the sport. 

“Everyone’s childhood dream is to play [at] the professional level,” Swank said. “That’s still my aspiration and my career goal. Hopefully, I’m going to do all I can to get to that level and stick with it.”

In pursuit of his objective, Swank decided to focus completely on baseball upon graduating middle school. He played travel baseball and was a star shortstop at Riverside High School in Leesburg, VA. Swank’s skill quickly shone through and he began to receive attention from scouts. One report described him as a “talented middle infield prospect” with speed, solid defensive skills and “sneaky pop,” adding that he could create “consistent, hard contact and [drive] the ball from gap-to-gap.” 

By the end of the 2018 spring season, Swank had been selected to the All-Met Baseball First Team after batting .493 with 17 doubles and 29 RBIs. That same year, the high school junior also committed to Yale. 

“Carson has been one of the greatest friends and teammates I’ve ever had,” infielder Alec Atkinson ’24 told the News. “It’s special how every action he takes displays his love for Yale Baseball … and for each and every one of our guys. Off the field and in our locker room, he’s a great presence to have. The humility he shows and how personable he is makes him a constant joy to be around. Our team is in the best hands possible, and I can’t wait to see him in the captain role this year.”

Swank’s high school tenure was a formative period in his baseball career and provided him with key fundamental skills. He said his time in high school helped “mold [him] into the baseball player [he is]” and “showed [him] the right way to play the game.” He also added that he was grateful for the support he’d received then, especially from head varsity coach Sam Plank, along with varsity assistant coaches Eric Lascomb and Darren Brady. 

The work ethic the infielder developed at Riverside allowed him to transition smoothly into collegiate baseball. Despite the shortened 2020 season, Swank demonstrated his potential and received an Ivy League Rookie of the Week recognition. He had a .341 batting average, drove in 13 runs and had at least one hit in all ten games of the year. The Virginian’s discipline and dedication to the sport also became evident to his teammates. 

“Carson is one of the hardest workers on the team,” right-handed pitcher Carter Kessinger ’23 wrote to the News. “On the field, he’s a great player: a superb defender at third base and a catalyst in the lineup. Off the field, he’s a great friend with a great temperament. He’s going to be a really good captain, especially for this incoming class of first years.”

Last season, the Yale baseball team finished with a 20–18 overall record and were fourth in the Ivy League standings. The 2022 season also marked the end of head coach John Stuper’s thirty-year tenure with the Bulldogs. The former St. Louis Cardinals player was the winningest skipper in program history. 

Reflecting on last season, Swank acknowledged that “there is always room for improvement” and that things had not “[turned] out as well as [the team] had hoped for.” He nevertheless voiced his enthusiasm for the future and said “[he] could not be more excited” to lead the team, noting new changes and the team’s potential this year. 

“The main goal as a team is to win the Ivy League championship, and I think we have a really good shot at that this year,” the captain said about the upcoming season. “We are a more experienced team. [The new coaching staff] has a successful history and a winning mindset, and we’re going to be in good hands with them. Our team chemistry, too, is one of the things that is going to set us apart from other teams.”

This year, the Bulldogs will welcome a talented group of players from the class of 2026 and two new members to its coaching staff. After leading Eastern Connecticut State to an NCAA Division III National Championship last season, Brian Hamm will join Yale as the new head coach. He brings more than two decades of coaching experience and has received numerous accolades, including the 2022 Skip Bertman Coach of the Year Award, given to the top coach at any NCAA level. Chris Wojick, who worked alongside Hamm at Eastern Connecticut State, will also be joining the program as an assistant coach. 

Swank looks forward to working with Hamm and the rest of the coaching staff to prepare the team for the spring season. As a leader both on and off the field, he told the News that he wanted to “create a welcoming atmosphere” in the clubhouse and be remembered as a captain that “tries to do their best to set their team up for success.”

On an individual level, the captain added that his “goal every year is to strive for perfection” and “do better than last year” in all possible categories. He also reiterated his gratitude for the support he has received throughout his baseball journey, including that from his parents and step-parents, coaching staff, teammates and friends.

“Carson being elected captain is no surprise to me,” infielder AJ Gaich ’23 said. “The way he carries himself on and off the field is exactly what you would want out of a captain. For me, personally, he has become my best friend, but I feel like a lot of people look at him as a really close friend because he is that great of a person and cares about every guy in the clubhouse. The future is bright for … Yale Baseball with him at the front leading us this year.”

This summer, Swank remained active on the baseball diamond and played for the Valley Blue Sox, a team in the New England Collegiate Baseball League.

The post BASEBALL: Carson Swank ’23 leads the Elis into a new chapter appeared first on Yale Daily News.

Having lost their last four games, the Blue and White are in the midst of a challenging stretch. Yale’s hopes of playing in the postseason disappeared last weekend after being swept by Columbia (23–13, 13–2 Ivy) in a three-game away series. On Wednesday, the Elis fell short of a comeback in late innings against No. 15 UConn (34–8, 7–8 Big East), losing their individual matchup against the Huskies 4–8. 

“The team battled really well at UConn,” closer Mark Capell ’25 said. “We had 14 hits, [but] we just couldn’t piece together as many runs as we would’ve liked. They are a talented hitting team that as a pitcher I would’ve liked to [challenge] in the zone more, but they are a strong opponent for sure.”

The Bulldogs showed grit in the Battle of the Hounds against UConn. The Huskies, who were unanimously chosen in the preseason as the favorites to win their conference, had enjoyed significant success prior to their match-up against the Elis. Yale’s in-state rival is currently ranked fifteenth in the nation and has won 15 out of its last 16 games.

In the game on Wednesday, the Huskies struck first. With two-way player Jimmy Chatfield ’24 on the mound, the UConn lineup scored early by driving home a run in the first inning. The Huskies proceeded to score five more runs in the next four innings. They further solidified their lead with a two-run eighth frame.

The Huskies’ first-year starter, Ian Cooke, who currently has an ERA of only 1.71, was phenomenal on the mound and pitched six shutout innings against the Elis. After those frames, the Bulldogs attacked the opposing bullpen and were able to put themselves on the board with a three-run seventh that cut UConn’s lead by half. However, Yale was unable to successfully pull off a comeback and were only able to score one more run in the ninth.

In their upcoming games, the Blue and White will look to further improve their performances at the plate, especially in regards to situational hitting. Pitcher Carter Kessinger ’23 said that the team “definitely [has] room for improvement.” He added that “[Yale] can always pitch the ball better, [and] do a better job in trying to string hits together and scoring runs in key situations with runners on base.”

The Bulldogs will also look to maximize their strengths on the mound. In an early April interview with the News, Yale ace Grant Kipp ’22 said that one area the staff was looking to improve upon was “doing a better job when ahead of the count,” especially when it came to efficiently “putting people away and trying to get more strikeouts.”

Yale will now look to turn things around this weekend as it prepares to face off against Penn (25–10, 12–2 Ivy), which is ranked second in the Ivy League. The three-game series will begin on Friday, April 29 at 1 p.m. The Quakers have won every conference series they have had so far this season, only losing two individual games against Columbia and Dartmouth (19–15, 10–5 Ivy). Penn will be traveling to New Haven with momentum after recent sweeps against Brown (8–22, 3–12 Ivy), Cornell (9–20, 4–11 Ivy) and Harvard (16–18, 7–7 Ivy). 

The Quakers are a balanced team with a formidable offense and a strong pitching staff. At the plate, their line-up is disciplined and consistent, leading the league in both walks and on-base percentage. The Penn batters are also not afraid of being aggressive at the plate, and are ranked second in the conference in batting average, slugging percentage and hits.

To clinch a series win against Penn, the Bulldogs will have to showcase their offensive strengths and exploit any weaknesses in the opposing pitching staff, which has been among the strongest in the Ivy League. The Quaker arms have been outstanding this season, leading the league in batters struck out, least hits allowed, least runs allowed and wins. Penn’s pitchers will enter the series against Yale with a combined ERA of 4.12, the lowest in the conference. They have also limited opposing batters to a 0.232 batting average.

“Facing Penn this weekend, we need to bring a lot of energy and fight in us,” Capell said. “They are a very strong hitting team … so we are going to have to pound ahead, throw with conviction and play solid defense to win this series. As a team, we have goals to finish as best as possible, which starts with the game on Friday.”

The Bulldogs’ record in George H.W. Bush ’48 Field is currently 7–3, which is an improvement compared to their last full season in 2019, where they had a home record of 5–5.

The post BASEBALL: Elis fall short against No. 15 UConn, now look to bounce back against Penn appeared first on Yale Daily News.