The players on the Harvard men’s baseball team must have had sweet dreams Saturday night.

A late arrival into Bradenton, Fla. and an early morning wakeup call gave the Crimson players only three hours of sleep before their 10 a.m. season opener, but that couldn’t stop Harvard (2-1).

The Crimson opened its season with come-from-behind wins over Holy Cross and Duquesne on Saturday before falling to Valparaiso on Sunday.

Capitalizing on veteran talent and some new faces, Harvard posted a solid start to its season.

“It’s good to start off the season with a couple of wins,” said captain and closer Barry Wahlberg. “We had a couple of big come-from-behind wins that showed we have no fear, and that’s great because we are a young team. It was good to see some guys step up.”

On Saturday, someone stepped up whenever the Crimson needed it most. Sophomore Ian Wallace and senior Brian Lentz each knocked ninth-inning, game-winning hits.

The 2-1 start is much better than Harvard’s opening stretch last season. Although the Crimson finished the 2002 campaign as Ivy champs, Harvard began the season a rocky 0-6 before picking up its first win on March 24 over Lafayette.

The Crimson’s game with Indiana Purdue Ft. Wayne, scheduled for 7 p.m. last night, was cancelled due to rain and will not be rescheduled.

Valparaiso 9, Harvard 1

This game was as ugly as the score. The Crimson defense combined for five errors and its pitchers gave up 10 walks as Harvard suffered its first loss of the season, falling 9-1 to Valparaiso (3-5).

Sophomore Javier Arteaga started the game for the Crimson, but struggled and was relieved by senior Matt Self with the bases loaded in the first inning. Self—who pitched four solid innings of relief—got Harvard out of the jam with a strikeout and a double play.

But the Crimson didn’t capitalize on its good fortune.

Harvard’s lone run came in the fourth inning while trailing 3-0. Wallace, freshman Zak Farkes and sophomore Schuyler Mann all walked to load the bases for junior first baseman Trey Hendricks.

But Hendricks—Harvard’s top hitter—lined a ball back up the middle that glanced off the Valpo pitcher and went for a double play. Although Wallace scored, the Crimson’s rally was stunted.

“He hit the ball hard up the middle and it just tipped off the pitcher,” Wallace said. “At that point, only down by three with the bases loaded and Trey up, we felt pretty good.”