Softball Splits Midweek Contests

Last year, the Harvard softball team put up a total of 25 runs to sweep Rhode Island in its two-game series, 10-0 and 15-7. Each of the contests lasted just five innings, as Harvard took home both victories by mercy rule.

But the Crimson squad was unable to repeat its dominant performance this season, splitting yesterday’s doubleheader against the Rams (14-19, 2-4 A-10) at URI Softball Complex. Despite nabbing a 6-2 win in the first game, Harvard (20-10, 7-1 Ivy) failed to keep the rally going in the second contest and was ultimately defeated, 5-1.

“Overall, we had a pretty solid team effort,” said freshman first baseman Adrienne Hume. “We still have some things to work on, and I know we can be much stronger offensively. We have the ability to score a lot more runs than what we showed for today. We came away with the split but definitely could have taken both games.”

RHODE ISLAND 5, HARVARD 1

In the second game of the day, the Crimson fell into an early one-run hole and was unable to dig itself out, losing, 5-1.

For the first three innings of the contest, the Rhode Island defense silenced the Harvard bats, which currently lead the Ivy League with a batting average of .281.

Meanwhile, as the Rams’ infield was shutting out the Crimson, its offense was able to load up the scoreboard with runs.

Courtney Prendergast hit an RBI double in the first inning and Alison Hartzell homered in the second to give Rhode Island a 2-0 lead. The Rams then plated three more batters in the bottom of the third inning to put Harvard in a five-run deficit.

The Rhode Island rally finally ended in the fourth inning, when sophomore hurler Laura Ricciardone came in to replace freshman Gabrielle Ruiz on the mound. Ricciardone went on to pitch a scoreless three innings during which the Rams did not produce a single hit.

The Crimson tried to make a comeback at the top of the sixth inning but was only able to muster up a single run, when right fielder Shelbi Olson scored, unearned, on a throw to second base.

Harvard made one more scoring attempt in the seventh inning but came up empty.

“The team is left with a bitter taste in our mouths that the Rams were able to take one from us,” Ricciardone said. “We’ll carry that with us to [our conference matchup at] Yale this weekend.”

HARVARD 6, RHODE ISLAND 2

The first game of the doubleheader was a defensive battle with the Crimson ultimately coming out on top, 6-2.

Co-captain Rachel Brown was put to the test as soon as she got on the mound, as the first two batters of the Rhode Island offense roped back-to-back singles in the first inning. The third batter then popped out and Brown walked the cleanup hitter, loading the bases with only one out.

But last season’s Pitcher of the Year led Harvard safely out of the inning by striking out the next two hitters. Brown went on to fan a total of 14 batters in her seven innings pitched, bringing her career strikeout count to 157, the highest in the Ancient Eight.

Brown kept the momentum going in the second and third innings, and both squads were held scoreless until the top of the fourth, when sophomore third baseman Kasey Lange—the most recent Ivy League Player of the Week—ripped a two-run homer.

The Rams responded with a run in the bottom of the inning to decrease their deficit to a single run and make the score 2-1.

The Crimson regained a two-run lead in the fifth inning as Hume stole home on a wild pitch.

But Rhode Island continued to battle, bringing in an additional run that same inning to once again make it a one-run game, 3-2.

Harvard answered at the top of the sixth inning with a three-run rally, extending its advantage to four runs.

Lange was the first on base, advancing on a walk. Freshman Andrea Del Conte came in to pinch run for Lange and advanced to second on a fielding error. Shortly after, sophomore Allison Scott singled to center field to bring Del Conte home.

Freshman second baseman Katherine Lantz followed with a two-run homer to plate the final runs of the inning.

The Rams made an effort to spark up a comeback in the sixth and seventh innings but were unsuccessful, and the host team fell to the Crimson, 6-2.

“Overall I think the team played well today, but I definitely think we saw areas of our game that could be improved,” Lantz said. “The team is looking forward to working out these kinks this week at practice in order to come out on top against Yale this weekend.”

—Staff writer Marlee Melendy can be reached at melendy@college.harvard.edu.