Softball Looks To Rebound After Early Conference Struggles

Following a pair of five-inning victories at home against Rhode Island on Tuesday, the Harvard softball team (10-15, 1-3 Ivy) looks to remain undefeated at home against visiting Cornell (8-10, 2-2) and Princeton (10-13, 2-0) over the weekend.

After splitting a pair of games with Columbia on Friday and dropping two to Penn on Saturday, the team hopes to snag wins against a much-improved Princeton squad and a Cornell team that looks to extend its win streak. Following Tuesday night’s stomping of the Rams 15-0 and then 14-3, the outlook is positive following three conference losses on the weekend.

“I think the team is figuring out offensively how to battle and how to look for good pitches at the plate,” Harvard coach Jenny Allard said. “I think we are really confident at the plate right now and I think were hoping to take that into the weekend.”

Prior to its second loss against Penn on Saturday, the team had allowed only seven runs in 31 innings of play. Though the Crimson struggled to muster runs in Saturday’s first game, the offense turned on in the second meeting, totaling 18 hits over seven innings. Harvard would lead for much of the game, before losing on a walk-off single in the last inning. Despite the loss, the team is looking forward to picking up some conference wins over the weekend.

“We just need to play well in all aspects of the game. We need to hit well and we need to get timely hits,” Allardsaid. “We need to have great pitching and we need to have great defense.”

Even though the team gave up big runs against the Quakers on Saturday, it is expecting big support from its bullpen as it tackles its Ivy League rivals. Lead by senior pitcher Laura Ricciardone, who has a team high 58 innings pitched and an ERA of 4.34, the bullpen intends to do some damage over the weekend. Over the 25 games thus far, the pitching has held opposing teams to a batting average of .258 and combined for an ERA of 3.65.

“It’s definitely an important weekend for us,” Ricciardone said. “We have to really come out and put all three parts together: pitching, defense, and offense.”

On the offensive side, the team isn’t looking to the biggest, but instead to the most consistent hitters. Senior catcher Katherine Appelbe leads the team with a .396 batting average and a .521 slugging percentage. The offensive weight isn’t carried individually, however, with six of the Crimson’s starters batting above .300.

The offensive effort extends beyond the plate for Harvard, with senior outfielder Andrea Del Conte leading the Ivy League in stolen bases with 12 and leading the team in triples. The team has batted .292 in the month of March with a .382 slugging percentage.

Despite the loss of four time All-Ivy team member Kasey Lange last year, the offense has continued rolling—leading the Ivy League in hits and RBI.

Regardless of the output on the offensive end, the defense needs to lock it down for a successful weekend. In 167 innings, the bullpen has allowed an Ivy League high 183 hits. Within the Ancient Eight, the Crimson comes second in the category of hits allowed with a conference ERA of 6.04, with only Penn giving up more earned runs on average.

If Harvard looks to come out with a pair of wins over Cornell on Friday, the defense will need to make a big impact as the Big Red lead the Ivy League in  combined batting average (.314) and on base percentage (.393). Cornell comes into the series fresh off a four game winning streak after beating both both Yale and Brown last weekend.

“We know they’re going to swing their bats hard,” Allard said. “Historically, they’ve always been a great hitting team.”

After two games against the Big Red on Friday, the Crimson takes on a Princeton team that is undefeated thus far in conference play. The Tigers have gone 5-1 in their last six games with a .311 on base percentage on the year.