HARVARD 6, YALE 3

The Crimson rode the reliable right arm of senior starter Sean Poppen to a rebound victory on Saturday night, benefitting from pass balls on successive at-bats during its decisive four-run eighth inning.

Poppen allowed three runs, two earned, over seven innings while striking out seven.

“From a defensive standpoint, it’s always great to play behind guys who are filling it up, throwing great, and have a lot of confidence on the mound,” Klug said. “We played some good defense behind them, and we gave them some support, and that’s the most important thing.”

Harvard trailed, 3-2, heading into the eighth but passed balls and RBIs from freshman first baseman Pat McColl and Rothenberg tipped the scales back in the visitor’s balance.

YALE 3, HARVARD 2

Shaky defense and cold bats doomed the Crimson to a weekend-opening loss on Saturday afternoon, 3-2, against the Bulldogs. Junior right-hander Nick Gruener hurled his fifth consecutive complete game, striking out five in six innings of three-run ball. None of the runs were earned.

“I think any time Nick’s out on the mound, we’re definitely putting ourselves in a position to win,” Klug said. “The defense loves to play behind him, he always pitches well.”

That defense, however, committed three errors, with the errors leading to all three runs. Reid and freshman left fielder Trent Bryan drove in Harvard’s runs, but a throwing error in the fifth inning by Fallon ended up being the difference between the sides.

—Staff writer Manav Khandelwal can be reached at manavkhandelwal@college.harvard.edu.