Crimson Wins on Murphy Power

The Harvard softball team scored four runs in the top of the seventh inning to come from behind and win at Boston College in a 12-9 slugfest.

Freshman designated hitter Lauren Murphy emphatically continued her stellar season, blasting three home runs and driving in eight runs as part of a 5-for-5 day for the Crimson (26-12, 11-5 Ivy). Her first home run broke the team’s single season record of 13, set by Tiffany Whitton in 2002.

“Lauren Murphy had a monster of a game,” junior pitcher Shelly Madick said. “There aren’t many words to describe the game she had today.”

Trailing the Eagles [10-23, 2-12 ACC] 9-8 entering the final inning, sophomore catcher Hayley Bock led off with a walk and was pinch run for by sophomore Bailey Vertovez.

After freshman third baseman Melissa Schellberg popped to catcher, freshman right fielder Jennifer Francis doubled to center.

Next up was senior left fielder Susie Winkeller, who tied the game with a single to left. Freshman pinch hitter Jessica Pledger then singled to right to score Francis and regain the lead from BC.

Two batters and one out later, Murphy doubled to left to score Winkeller and freshman pinch runner Stephanie Krysiak.

Madick set the Eagles down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the seventh. She also pitched a scoreless sixth and improved to 13-3 on the year.

As well as finishing the scoring in the high-scoring game, Murphy started it in the first. With one out and captain and second baseman Julia Kidder at second, Murphy, who now leads the league in home runs with 16, homered to left. She knocked in two more with her second homer of the game in the fourth, which scored senior shortstop Lauren Brown.

Her final home run of the game came the next inning, capping a three-run frame. With two outs and Winkeller on third, Brown reached on an error by the BC shortstop, allowing Winkeller to score. Murphy then made the hosts regret their miscue even more with a huge shot to center field.

Brown would add a home run of her own, a solo shot in the sixth, her fourth of the year.

All these runs would be necessary, as the Eagles brought their bats to the game. After allowing a total of three runs in its last seven games, all wins, the Crimson gave up two in the first inning alone. Junior Amanda Watkins only retired one batter in that inning before being replaced by freshman Margaux Black. Black got out of a bases-loaded jam, but gave up four runs in the second before fellow freshman Dana Roberts took over for the third.

Roberts recorded threes across the board. She threw three innings, allowing three runs on three hits, while striking out three.

“BC is a good hitting team,” Madick said. “The good thing about us is when pitching isn’t doing it, hitting is.”

This matchup marked the final non-conference regular season game for Harvard. It wraps up the Ivy League regular season this weekend with four games against Dartmouth. The Crimson currently leads the Big Green by one game in the Ivy League North Division. If it can at least split the four games, it will win the division and advance to the Ivy League Championship next weekend. If Harvard wins that, it will advance to the Collegiate World Series.

“The games this weekend are what we have been practicing for since September,” Kidder said.

—Staff writer Ted Kirby can be reached at tjkirby@fas.harvard.edu.