Softball Splits Doubleheader With B.C.

The Harvard softball team went 16 innings without scoring a run yesterday at Boston College. But when the Crimson finally decided to bring some baserunners around, they came in droves. HARVARD  0 B.C.  2 HARVARD  6 B.C.  1

Harvard (23-20, 6-0 Ivy) scored six runs in the top of the 10th inning of game two to earn a doubleheader split with Boston College (32-8-1). The Eagles took the opener, 2-0, before the Crimson used the extra-inning scoring barrage to win the nightcap, 6-1.

Harvard's offensive explosion included a three-run home run by sophomore Deborah Abeles. The round-tripper was Abeles' eighth of the season and the 11th of her career, making her Harvard's all-time home run champion.

"I'm excited, but I didn't have a really good day at the plate," Abeles said. "That's my focus--consistency. I need to be consistent at the plate for our team."

Harvard's Tasha Cupp was masterful on the mound in game one. The senior lefthander gave up just six hits and one earned run in six innings while striking out seven. She now has 100 strikeouts on the year.

The Crimson's bats went cold, however, and could muster only four hits against B.C.'s Mary Dietz. Dietz went the distance for the Eagles and struck out 12 batters.

"Their pitching was not overpowering by any means," Abeles said.

"We were swinging at bad pitches and looking at good ones," added co-captain Jenny Franzese.

The second game looked similar to the first through the seven innings of regulation. Senior Heather Brown and freshman Chelsea Thoke battled B.C.'s Lauren Fischetti in a pitching duel of the highest order.

Brown scattered five hits over four innings before Thoke took over in the fifth. Fischetti, meanwhile, pitched brilliantly through nine innings, but the 10th proved to be her undoing.

Thoke led off with her first dinger of the season to put Harvard ahead 1-0. Sophomore Ghia Godfree followed with a double into center, and junior co-captain Tara LaSovage pinch ran for her.

LaSovage scored when senior Mandy Wills singled into center. Sophomore Jessie Amberg then chased Fischetti with a scorching double into center.

Anne Marie Ambros came on in relief of Fischetti but fared no better. The first batter she faced, Franzese, dropped a gorgeous bunt in front of Ambros that began a perfectly executed squeeze play. The bunt single scored Wills and moved Amberg to third, putting runners at the corners and staking Harvard to a 3-0 lead.

Two batters later Abeles stepped to the plate and doubled Harvard's advantage with one record-breaking swing of her bat.

"I had faith that we would put it together," Franzese said. "I was just hoping it would come sooner rather than later."

The Eagles put one run on the scoreboard in the bottom of the frame, but Thoke quickly ended the affair. Thoke gave up just three hits, two walks and one earned run in six innings while striking out 10 batters for the third time this season. She was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week yesterday, and she currently leads the league in strikeouts with 125 Ks in 114 innings.

"Our pitchers have been consistent all year, and they're pitching their hearts out," Franzese said. "They've been doing a good job in pressure situations."

Harvard (23-20, 6-0 Ivy) scored six runs in the top of the 10th inning of game two to earn a doubleheader split with Boston College (32-8-1). The Eagles took the opener, 2-0, before the Crimson used the extra-inning scoring barrage to win the nightcap, 6-1.

Harvard's offensive explosion included a three-run home run by sophomore Deborah Abeles. The round-tripper was Abeles' eighth of the season and the 11th of her career, making her Harvard's all-time home run champion.

"I'm excited, but I didn't have a really good day at the plate," Abeles said. "That's my focus--consistency. I need to be consistent at the plate for our team."

Harvard's Tasha Cupp was masterful on the mound in game one. The senior lefthander gave up just six hits and one earned run in six innings while striking out seven. She now has 100 strikeouts on the year.

The Crimson's bats went cold, however, and could muster only four hits against B.C.'s Mary Dietz. Dietz went the distance for the Eagles and struck out 12 batters.

"Their pitching was not overpowering by any means," Abeles said.

"We were swinging at bad pitches and looking at good ones," added co-captain Jenny Franzese.

The second game looked similar to the first through the seven innings of regulation. Senior Heather Brown and freshman Chelsea Thoke battled B.C.'s Lauren Fischetti in a pitching duel of the highest order.

Brown scattered five hits over four innings before Thoke took over in the fifth. Fischetti, meanwhile, pitched brilliantly through nine innings, but the 10th proved to be her undoing.

Thoke led off with her first dinger of the season to put Harvard ahead 1-0. Sophomore Ghia Godfree followed with a double into center, and junior co-captain Tara LaSovage pinch ran for her.

LaSovage scored when senior Mandy Wills singled into center. Sophomore Jessie Amberg then chased Fischetti with a scorching double into center.

Anne Marie Ambros came on in relief of Fischetti but fared no better. The first batter she faced, Franzese, dropped a gorgeous bunt in front of Ambros that began a perfectly executed squeeze play. The bunt single scored Wills and moved Amberg to third, putting runners at the corners and staking Harvard to a 3-0 lead.

Two batters later Abeles stepped to the plate and doubled Harvard's advantage with one record-breaking swing of her bat.

"I had faith that we would put it together," Franzese said. "I was just hoping it would come sooner rather than later."

The Eagles put one run on the scoreboard in the bottom of the frame, but Thoke quickly ended the affair. Thoke gave up just three hits, two walks and one earned run in six innings while striking out 10 batters for the third time this season. She was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week yesterday, and she currently leads the league in strikeouts with 125 Ks in 114 innings.

"Our pitchers have been consistent all year, and they're pitching their hearts out," Franzese said. "They've been doing a good job in pressure situations."