SOFTBALL 2005: Fourth Time's the Charm?

The five members of the class of 2005 are the first seniors since the class of 1997 to face graduation without an Ivy League championship. Last time Harvard softball (5-9) finished on top of the Ancient Eight was in 2001.

“They’re the only class that I’ve coached who hasn’t gotten a ring yet,” Harvard coach Jenny Allard said.

Add three impact freshmen to those five hungry seniors, and the Crimson has its own version of “the young and the restless.” All three rookies look to be major contributors from the start, and the fate of the 2005 season could rest largely in the hands of its young talent.

TOES THE RUBBER

Two of those freshmen are pitchers who join a sophomore, junior, and senior on the mound, and Allard expects all five hurlers to contribute.

“I think heading out, I want all of our pitchers focused on being able to start for us at any time,” Allard said.

After the graduation of last year’s Ivy League Pitcher of the Year, Kara Brotemarkle, ’04 a top priority during the off-season was to train and develop a powerful and consistent pitching staff.

Harvard might have outdone itself with the recruitment of freshmen Amanda Watkins and Shelly Madick. Both hailing from southern California, Watkins and Madick bring highly successful pitching resumes and repertoires to Harvard.

“Amanda and Shelly will play a large role on our pitching staff this year,” Allard said. “They have good moving pitches. I think Amanda’s a hard throwing right handed pitcher. And I would describe Shelly as a very good breaking ball pitcher.”

The freshmen hurlers combined for 34 strikeouts in their first 54.2 innings of play, with Madick recording 12 K’s in the Crimson’s 4-1 win over Providence on Tuesday.

Alongside Watkins and Madick is co-captain Lauren Bettinelli, who split innings with Brotemarkle last season. Her career ERA of 2.45 ranks eighth on Harvard’s all-time list, and she also boasts the Crimson’s second-lowest career opponent batting average of .224.

Sophomore pitcher Becky Voaklander also returns to the mound after limited playing time last year.

“She has the best changeup on the staff. It’s her bread and butter pitch.” Allard said. “She’s worked hard to develop a good screwball and a good drop curve, so hopefully with those added pitches, she’s going to get more time in than she did last year.”

Rounding out the pitching rotation is junior Michele McAteer, who injury and illness kept away for most of the 2004 season.

“Michele’s strength is down, but she keeps hitters off-balance,” Allard said. “She gets a lot of ground balls. If our defense isn’t playing well, it could be a disaster behind Michele. But she’s not going to serve the pitch up and have it get hit out of the park.”

This ability to spray fieldable hits makes McAteer a useful resource, but Allard notes that hitters are quick to figure out her pitching and expects McAteer to be most valuable once through any opposing lineup.

BEHIND THE PLATE

Harvard has perhaps its most experience of any position behind the plate in senior Annie Dell’Aria and junior Erin Halpenny. Dell’Aria played her first season for the Crimson last spring after transferring from Notre Dame.

She also brought a big bat with her, finishing third on the team with 17 RBI last season.

Halpenny has been a reliable and solid player since her freshman season and is very comfortable behind the plate. She also contributes from third base, where her fielding percentage was .984 last season.

Backing up these two starters is sophomore Sarah Shaughnessy, who walked on as a freshman. She will see limited time at catcher, mainly playing as a pinch runner.

ON THE SAND

With confident players manning every position, this year’s infield should be very solid and equally deep.

Senior Cecily Gordon anchors the defense at first base and brings a heavy bat at the plate. She led last year’s team in battingaverage (.317), slugging percentage (.468), and doubles (9).

“She’s a very calming presence and communicates well,” Allard said. “She’s a good hitter, solid hitter. She’ll be 3-4 for us.”

Freshman Danielle Kerper will play behind Gordon in the field, but will contribute heavily on the offensive side as a designated hitter. Her slugging percentage of .535 after 12 games led Harvard, and she already has a double, a triple, and two home runs to her credit.

The duo of sophomores Lauren Brown and Julia Kidder moves into the center of the infield this year to shortstop and second base, respectively. Last season, Brown and Kidder contributed defensively from the outfield, but with the graduation of four-year starters Rachel Goldberg ’04 and Sara Williamson ’04, they transition to their recruited positions for the 2005 season.

“We’re going from an unnatural position to a more natural position,” Brown said. “We feel really comfortable playing with each other, and we get along really well which helps a lot.”

“They’re very gifted athletes, and they have good arms,” Allard said. “They just need games under their belt. They’ve been really working hard communicating, playing together.

Also look for Bettinelli to fill in at second base when not on the mound. Bettinelli, who only started pitching her sophomore year, is a powerful utility player at almost every infield position and was initially pegged as a second baseman.

“She has some of the best hands on the team. She has quick hands and a quick read,” Allard said. “So far, she’s making some adjustments.”

This season, Bettinelli will most likely settle at second or third base when not pitching.

Over the last year or two, third base, plagued by injuries but filled with depth, has resembled a revolving door. This year, the hot corner will most likely be manned by a combination of Bettinelli, and juniors Rachel Murray and Pilar Adams, along with Halpenny.

IN THE GRASS

Four-year starter senior Lauren Stefanchik brings her speed and reliability back to left field and continues to contribute offensively as the Crimson’s leadoff hitter and one of the Ivy League’s most dangerous base runners. Her quick feet have earned her first-team All-Ivy honors once, and second-team honors twice, and she already holds Harvard’s career stolen base record with 58.

“She’s our leadoff hitter, our threat on the bases,” Allard said. “We can generate a lot of offense from her. She reads the defense really well. She’s a very smart player. Nobody wants to walk her.”

Opposing teams don’t seem to be doing very well at keeping her off base paths, as her on-base percentage of .421 leads the Crimson.

Junior co-captain Kerry Flaherty starts in centerfield, where she started 32 games last year.

“She is our anchor out there in center,” Allard said. “She gets to balls that you think no one will get to. She can cover a lot of ground out there and that’s what we need.”

This could be a breakout year for Flaherty as she settles into a permanent starting role on both offense and defense.

Next to Flaherty, the right field starter had yet to be determined by the end of non-league play and may rotate game-to-game. Susie Winkeller has laid an early claim on the position and is third on the team with her .278 batting average, but watch for Adams and senior Beth Sabin to contribute from right as well.

HOW IT ALL ADDS UP

Undoubtedly, Harvard has talent and depth throughout the field combined with confidence and reliability at the plate. The real question is whether the Crimson will effectively convert its prized youth and veteran experience into an Ivy championship.

If it continues to improve after rough early season losses and can stay alive in early Ivy play, this Harvard squad stands to make a big run at the end of the season and be a major power to be reckoned with in the league.

Early season struggles could continue to plague this roster throughout the season, however, which might leave the Class of 2005’s fingers empty. The team combined for a .177 batting average and seven errors in its first 12 games.

The story unfolds this weekend with the start of Ivy play. The Crimson hosts 2004 Ivy co-champion Brown (2-7-2) for a double header at 1 p.m. tomorrow and Yale (8-14) at the same time on Sunday.

—Staff writer Carrie Petri can be reached at cpetri@fas.harvard.edu.