In as much as Byrne admires and emulates the play of his infield partner, Farkes has nothing but praise for his teammate.

“He is an unbelievable addition to our baseball team bringing both a tough attitude and versatile athleticism that no team can ever have too much of,” Farkes said. “Brendan also brings a certain swagger and attitude to our team that is as important as his contributions on the field. Not many of us really look at Brendan as a freshman because of the way he carries himself, always ready to crack a joke to loosen the team up or set the tone with his work ethic.”

Coach Walsh added even more praise for his freshman second baseman.

“He has a hard nosed attitude and he always wants to play,” Walsh said. “He is one of the best teammates you can have on a ball club, and he is somebody who in the future will take on an even more important leadership role.”

Just this past Sunday in the ninth inning of Game 4 against Brown, Byrne had a hit and scored one of Harvard’s four ninth-inning runs to cap off a thrilling 9-8 comeback victory against the Bears (13-21, 8-8 Ivy). The Crimson won three-of-four against Brown this weekend, knocking the Bears out of contention for the Ivy League title. This coming weekend Harvard has four critical games against Red Rolfe division leading Dartmouth (22-11, 13-3 Ivy) and the Crimson hopes to ride recent momentum towards a possible division title.

“We’ve had some ups and downs and injuries have definitely played a factor,” Byrne said. “But the most important thing is how we finish. Take the hockey team. For a while it was rocky, but they played well at the end and had a lot of heart and fight. For the baseball team we want to get our way into the NCAA’s and see what we can do when we get there.”

Byrne’s mention of the Harvard hockey team’s playoff run this past season was not just from the perspective of a casual fan but rather as an actual varsity player.

Byrne was recruited to play Division I hockey out of high school by various schools, but an offer to play baseball for the Crimson was too enticing to turn down.

Byrne did not abandon his hope to play hockey, however, and when he contacted Gene Reilly, one of Harvard’s assistant coaches, his Crimson hockey quest began.

“They told me to go out for JV first, but there was an injury a week into the season, and I was brought up,” Byrne said. “I caught a big break. [senior forward] Kenny Turano went down, and he’s an unbelievable player, and it was unfortunate to lose him. But from there they put me on the team, and I stuck with it.”

Byrne joined the squad in November after the team’s first weekend series, and although he never dressed he played a critical role on the team.

“I didn’t dress at all but it was great to get to know the kids and go to practice everyday,” Byrne said. “It’s a special team. To win ECAC’s like they did was great.”

Much like his early experience with the baseball team, the hockey players quickly became enamored with Byrne and really valued his role on the team.

“I actually played against Brendan all through high school,” said newly-elected captain Noah Welch. “He’s a great player and a great athlete, He got after us in practice and made plays and pushed everyone else which is great. He’s a great addition to our team and everyone expects him to play next year.”

“He added a lot of energy and enthusiasm to all our practices and lifts, and he was always working hard,” added freshman forward Kevin Du. “Growing up and playing hockey in this area, he’s played against and with some of the guys on the team. So, he was pretty comfortable as soon as he joined the team.”