Softball Takes Two Weekend Games

And the calls just keep on coming.

The Harvard softball team (6-14) was once again victim of the “illegal pitch controversy,” a trend that started this year following criticism of illegal pitching mechanics demonstrated by pitchers around the nation. But despite the confusion surrounding the newly-enforced rule, the Crimson was able to pull out two wins at Fairfield University (11-13) yesterday after failing to come back from behind at Quinnipiac (11-14) on Saturday.

“Our coach told us that these would be the last games before Ivies start,” Crimson sophomore Rachel Brown said. “So we took what she said to heart, and we wanted to get ready for the games that really matter and to work out our small kinks and problems.”

Some of those problems are influenced by external factors. Against Boston University on Thursday, co-captain and pitcher Margaux Black was called for multiple illegal pitches that aided an 11-run first-inning outburst for the Terriers. This weekend, it was Brown’s turn to receive the tough calls from the unrelenting umpires.

“The illegal pitch controversy is a difficult thing,” Harvard coach Jenny Allard said. “There is a huge inconsistency with how they’re calling these pitches. The umpires need to get it together in order to make the game better.”

HARVARD 10, FAIRFIELD 5

Black started the game against the Stags, allowing two runs and five hits in three innings of work. The Crimson had to wait until the fourth inning to answer back, and the team did so in style.

Sophomore Jane Alexander started the engine, as she launched a leadoff triple to left-center field. Sophomore Whitney Shaw, coming off a solo home run the day before, hit a sacrifice fly to bring Alexander home.

Freshmen Jessica Ferri and Kassy Shiotani, senior Stephanie Krysiak, and co-captain Melissa Schellberg, who is also a Crimson sports editor, each had an RBI in the inning—part of a six-hit, five-run outburst.

“Jane started off the inning with an important triple,” Brown said. “A thing on the team is that hitting is contagious, so everyone just jumped on board. We have to find that way to light the fire and start getting runs in every game.”

Fairfield got one back in the bottom of the inning before Harvard had another five hits in the top of the sixth, resulting in four more runs for the Crimson.

Sophomore Julia Moore, who allowed just one run in three innings of relief, came away with the win—the first this season for a pitcher not named Rachel Brown.

Schellberg and Shaw each had three RBI, and Shiotani scored three runs.

HARVARD 1, FAIRFIELD 0

The opening game of the doubleheader was a classic pitching duel between Brown and Stag Sarah Minice, as the Crimson only had to come up with one run to seal its fifth win of the season.

Brown sparkled in a complete-game, one-hit shutout, ringing up six and retiring 18 straight batters.

Harvard had two hits in the first three innings before getting on the board in the top of the fourth.

Freshman Mariel Sena walked and advanced to second on Shiotani’s fielder’s choice. Krysiak’s single helped Sena make it to third safely, and Schellberg flew out to bring Sena home.

The only other hit of the game came in the seventh, when Schellberg hit a single to right field. The co-captain leads the team with a .321 average.

QUINNIPIAC 3, HARVARD 2

Given the way the Harvard offense started out on Saturday afternoon, it seemed that its 10-game losing skid would finally come to an end. But the Crimson squandered two leads to let the hosts take the win.

The game sprung to life in the second inning when Harvard scored its first run of the day.

Ferri was up first for the Crimson. She struck out but advanced to first on an error. A wild pitch by Quinnipiac sophomore Heather Schwartzburg allowed Ferri to get to second, and the rookie came around on groundouts from junior Emily Henderson and Shiotani.

It didn’t take long for Quinnipiac to respond with a run of its own after an illegal pitch allowed the Bobcats’ Katie Allendorfer to reach home plate.

Shaw saw a chance to break the tie and sent the ball out of the park in the third inning for her first home run of the year.

But Quinnipiac rallied once again, plating a pair of runs off Ferri in the bottom of the inning to take the 3-2 lead.

Both teams were then quiet for the rest of the afternoon, as Bobcat reliever Heather Schwartzburg struck out nine in four innings.

—Staff writer Brian A. Campos can be reached at bcampos@fas.harvard.edu.