Harvard Bats Come Alive in Doubleheader Sweep Over Penn

It’s back to business for Harvard softball (15-7, 3-1 Ivy) as the team swept Penn (4-16-1, 1-3) in a doubleheader, winning 3-1 and 5-2 yesterday at Warren Field in Philadelphia, Pa.

Finally hitting its offensive stride just in time for the start of the Ivy season, the Crimson beat the Quakers after splitting a weekend series with Columbia, in which the team was limited to only one run in two games.

But the bats were on fire for Harvard yesterday—the team scored eight runs on 19 hits to overpower its Penn counterparts.

“It feels really good to have a winning record after our first weekend out,” co-captain Hayley Bock said yesterday. “We were pretty motivated to come out against Penn after splitting with Columbia—that was really disappointing. Today’s wins were really key for our season.”

“It was really important for us to sweep these two games,” co-captain Bailey Vertovez said. “We had no doubt in our minds that we were going to win both of these games. We set out to prove to Penn that we were the better team and we did it.”

HARVARD 5, PENN 2

The Crimson seized the lead early and never looked back, scoring consistently throughout the game to build on its advantage.

“We kept scoring each inning,” freshman first baseman Whitney Shaw said. “We didn’t have one standout inning but we kept the pressure on the entire game.”

Sophomore outfielder Emily Henderson got Harvard’s action started in the second inning when she came home on a wild pitch by Quakers pitcher Emily Denstedt. Sophomore Ellen Macadam scored just moments later to end the inning with a 2-0 advantage for the Crimson.

Though Penn managed to score in the fourth inning, Harvard increased its lead in the final two innings.

Pinch running for junior third baseman Melissa Schellberg, who is also a Crimson Sports Editor, junior Margaux Black was able to score off of junior outfielder Jen Francis’ double later in the frame.

“Jen Francis had the biggest hits of the day in the second game,” Bock said.

Henderson scored again, along with junior outfielder Stephanie Krysiak, who is also a Crimson Sports Editor, to put Harvard up 5-1 in the final inning.

But in the bottom of the seventh, Penn threatened to derail the Crimson’s lead. With two outs, the Quakers had the bases loaded, but Vertovez, who pitched the final two frames, and the Harvard defense held fast to shut Penn down and win 5-2.

“It was a close call in the seventh inning but we were able to shut them down and come out with the win,” Shaw said.

The Quakers have now won just one of their last ten games.

HARVARD 3, PENN 1

Coming off its loss to Columbia on Saturday, which marked Harvard’s first loss in five games, the Crimson came to Philadelphia looking for redemption and a fresh start.

“We brought out good energy the first game because we had been a little lackadaisical in past games,” Shaw said. “We jumped out early and were able to hold onto the lead.”

“I think we got up to the plate more focused, determined and relaxed,” Bock added. “We were able to swing at pitches and get the runs we needed.”

Harvard got the scoring going in the first inning when Schellberg drove in Macadam with a ground out to the shortstop.

The Crimson quickly increased its lead in the second inning when Francis scored off a Macadam ground ball and in the fourth inning when Vertovez scored an unearned run off a fly ball from Shaw.

Harvard and freshman pitcher Rachel Brown held the Quakers scoreless until the fifth inning. The rookie allowed only one run in the 3-1 victory.

“When she’s on the mound, we’re just really confident behind her,” Bock said. “We have a really confident mentality at the plate or on the field.”

Next up for the Crimson will be Rhode Island, who the team will take on at home.

“It’s important to play at home before our first Ivy League game at home,” Bock said. “Getting a game on our field since fall will be huge.”

—Staff writer Lucy D. Chen can be reached at lucychen@fas.harvard.edu.