Surging Softball Splits in Rhode Island

The Harvard softball team continued to ride the wave of momentum generated by its six wins in its last seven games, dominating the University of Rhode Island throughout the first game of their doubleheader and falling just short in the second.

“I think we’ve been doing pretty well lately, and we’ve been pretty prepared,” sophomore left fielder Lauren Stefanchik said. “So we knew that coming into URI it was possible to pick up a win or two.”

But with three innings to go in game two, the wave reached its peak and came crashing down, leaving hopes of a Crimson sweep in its wake.

With the split decision against URI (15-20), Harvard (12-22, 4-4 Ivy) has won seven of its last nine.

Harvard 4, URI 0

The Crimson grabbed the lead early thanks to timely hitting and cunning on the base paths, coupled with three Ram miscues.

“It’s an immense help,” junior Kara Brotemarkle said. “Because [as a pitcher] you feel like they’re behind you and it takes the pressure off. Plus it creates the momentum.”

A single from junior shortstop Rachel Goldberg put Harvard in position to take the lead. Tri-captain Tiffany Whitton wasted no time bringing her home, singling to the outfield to score Goldberg, making the score 1-0 after the first.

A URI error-plagued second inning solidified the Crimson lead.

A walk followed by a balk put sophomore catcher Laura Miller on second with one out. An error by Rams’ third baseman Kim Custance put runners on the corners and Harvard took advantage of the favorable situation.

Freshman center fielder Cara Woodard stole second before Stefanchik—who went 3-4—singled to drive in Miller, with Woodard advancing to third on the play.

With runners on the corners again and still only one out, Stefanchik broke for second, leading to the Ram’s second error of the inning, allowing Woodard to bring home the third run of the game.

And that was more than enough offensive support for the Crimson pitching staff.

Brotemarkle turned in six dazzling innings, allowing no runs on four hits and allowing only two walks.

“I think that if I’m pitching well through the first couple of innings, it’s easier to build off that to get me through the next couple,” Brotemarkle said. “If I feel strong right off the bat, I usually feel strong throughout the game.”

Carefully protecting the lead, she allowed only one runner to advance to third base, before striking out the next batter to defuse the threat.

“I was hitting my spots well today, something I haven’t been doing recently,” Brotemarkle said. “And I got my changeup to work, which is a pitch I learned just recently.”

Harvard added an additional run before sophomore Lauren Bettinelli replaced Brotemarkle. She pitched a perfect seventh inning to close out the game.

“We scored four runs the first game, so the pitching really helped us stay ahead and didn’t put too much pressure on our hitting or on our defense,” Stefanchik said.

URI 6, Harvard 5

Up four headed into the bottom of the fifth, the Crimson was poised to sweep the doubleheader, riding the momentum built up by strong pitching and consistent offensive production.

But a triple by URI junior second baseman Mel Gregory with one out finally broke Harvard’s stranglehold on the Rams and signaled the beginning of a sweeping shift in energy.

Gregory’s triple brought home one run, and a ground out knocked her in, cutting the deficit to just two headed into the sixth.

For the second consecutive inning, URI’s pitching staff silenced the Crimson bats, setting the stage for the conclusion of the comeback.

“I know there were a couple line drives that were just caught in the outfield,” Stefanchik said. “I don’t think we were having horrible at-bats. I think it’s just one of those things. The last three innings just weren’t our innings.”

Junior Lauren McAuliffe relieved freshman Michele McAteer on the mound and encountered trouble almost immediately.

A single and a walk put two on, before URI freshman first baseman Courtney Wall smashed a double that knocked in both, knotting the score at five.

McAuliffe retired two leaving a runner on third and appeared set to escape from the inning without trailing.

But Bettinelli couldn’t handle a shot to second, and her bobble allowed the game winning run to cross the plate.

“I think we came out strong in the second game,” Stefanchik said. “I think we had the same drive, the same momentum. Just a couple plays didn’t go our way.”

Harvard had broken out for the second time in the first inning, plating three runs on three hits.

With runners on second and third and one run already scored, freshman catcher Erin Halpenny smashed a double to bring home both Goldberg and Whitton, but was ultimately stranded at third.

Halpenny notched her third RBI of the game in the third, but that additional run was quickly erased by the Rams, who finally scored one of their own in the bottom half of the inning.

Goldberg drove in one more to push the lead to four, where it remained until the bottom half of the fifth.

But the early offensive surge proved insufficient, as the Rams’ clutch hitting and costly Harvard mistakes down the stretch erased the lead for good.

The Crimson travels south this weekend for Ivy League showdowns against the Penn Quakers and the Princeton Tigers, respectively, on April 25 and 26.

—Staff writer Timothy J. McGinn can be reached at mcginn@fas.harvard.edu.