Softballers Go 1-1 Against BC Eagles

Harvard's softball team's cross-town rival known for its phenomenal upset wins this year was not quite up to the challenge.

The Crimson took on BC yesterday, a school which has proven its athletic on the football field and basketball court. On the softball diamond, however, the best the Eagles could do was a split with Harvard, 2-0, 1-2.

After a disappointing loss to Providence Tuesday afternoon, the Crimson charged into yesterday's match, taking an early 1-0 lead.

"We came out to play the game we had to play," said senior catcher Christine Vogt. "We were incredibly-focussed today."

Harvard (11-21) rallied behind the strong stick skills of seniors Ann Kennon (4-6 on the day), Amy Reinhard (3-6) and Vogt (3-4).

The first Harvard run came from Reinhard in the first, and the Crimson didn't stop there.

In the third Kennon got on first and was able to take advantage of a good hit by Vogt and an error by the Eagles to get home.

For the rest of the game the Crimson was unrelenting defensively and walked away with a 2-0 win.

"It was nice to come back and play well," Kennon said. "It was a real confidence builder."

The Eagles came back tough in game two, however, and scored two runs in the first inning. At that point Harvard was forced to rely on its defense to shut down the Eagles. The Crimson shut down BC, not letting them see home plate again.

"We really transcended the moment," shortstop Reinhard said "I felt like we were all in the effort together."

In fact, the Crimson field went above and beyond the call of duty. In the fourth inning with one out, the Eagles got a hit with two runners on base challenging for home. Sophomore

Danielle Feinberg ran down a runner at third and threw the ball to Vogt at home for a tag.

Vogt quickly moved the ball out to second base for another out to complete the triple play (with one to spare).

Harvard was finally ale to score in the top of the seventh. Sue Traub was sent to first as a pinch runner for Kennon, who suffered an ankle injury. Traub proceeded to steal second and was then hit home by Melissa Reyen. Unfortunately, the effort was not enough to solidify a Crimson win--The Eagles held on to win the game 2-1.

"I was encouraged by our late inning performance," captain Nancy Johnson said. "We've done a much better job of playing strong until the end this year. That's the kind of play we're going to need for the rest of the season when we go up against other Ivies."

Harvard will go up against Penn and Yale this weekend at Soldier's Field.