Softball Swinging for the Fences

For the past two years, the Harvard softball team has entered the final weekend of Ivy League play within striking distance of reaching the championship series. Each time, the Crimson has won the first game of a weekend series with Dartmouth and then dropped the final three.

It wasn’t for a lack of ability the last few years. Hitting? Check. Record-setting slugger Kasey Lange ’14, who holds the Harvard record for home runs, led the Crimson with six home runs and 29 RBI. Pitching? Check. Senior Laura Ricciardone led the Ivy League in ERA last year, allowing 1.53 runs per nine innings. Speed? Check. Senior Andrea Del Conte and then-captain Shelbi Olson ‘14 were the top two base stealers in the Ancient Eight.

This year, the team has faced the added challenge of a severe Cambridge winter that forced the team to stay inside the bubble longer than it normally would.

In order to escape the record-breaking Boston winter, the Crimson started off the season by embarking on three road trips, to Florida, South Carolina, and California.

Although these tournaments generally provide tough competition, in this year in particular, the Crimson struggled.

This struggle was especially apparent in California, where Harvard dropped five in a row at the San Diego Classic II. The bats struggled in particular, posting only four runs throughout the tournament and getting shut out over the final three games. The team closed the trip strong, however, winning four of its last six games.

Since returning from the West Coast, the Crimson bats have been on a tear to start Ivy League play. In the last three games, the team has scored 14 runs or more.

Seniors Emily Gusse and Katherine Lantz have each provided some pop to replace Lange. They are tied for the team lead with three home runs apiece. Some freshmen have also been coming up hot. Freshman Alexa Altchek produced five runs batted in in Tuesday’s game against Rhode Island.

“I think it has been kind of a struggle, but we are finally on the right track, especially in our performance against Penn where we scored 14 runs,” junior pitcher Morgan Groom said. “A lot of people are really coming into their own.”

Whereas most of the run production came from a singular source last season, this year’s team is balanced up and down the lineup. Nine Crimson batters have driven in seven or more runs this year.
“We lost Kasey, Shelbi and [Allson Scott], but our freshman class has done a great job coming in filling those gaps,” senior catcher Katherine Appelbe said. “Our offensive lineup is definitely great one through nine. This year offensively we’ve had a pretty good year, and...what we did yesterday we would like to continue.”

The pitching staff returns all four members of the rotation from last year, led by the returning Ricciardone. However, early in the season, it has not dominated as much as last season when it led the Ivy League in ERA.

“It’s been frustrating because so many parts of our game are so good,” Groom said. “Sometimes our pitching is on, and we are pitching fantastic, and sometimes our defense is spotless, [and] it just seems when we come together and we are losing games, one of those aspects isn’t on.”

After dropping three of its first four in conference play, the Crimson is starting from behind in the league, a position that it was not in last year. To start Ivy League play in 2014, the Crimson rattled off 12 straight wins after an early tie.

“Now since we lost our doubleheader against Penn, we really have to fight for this season, whereas the last two seasons we lost right at the end,” Groom said. “I think it’s just going to push us to work a little harder for the rest of the season.”

Three stalwarts have recently dominated the Ivy League in recent years: Dartmouth, Penn, and Harvard. The championship has been between the Big Green and the Quakers each of the past two years. However, this year, the consensus is that the Ancient Eight as a whole has improved.

“Going into Ivy League [play], you have to treat every team as the same, you have to play at your own level every game,” Groom said. “Dartmouth and us have recently been the best in the North and Penn in the South. A lot of teams this year are better than they used to be, so it’s a lot more of an even playing ground."

With the weather beginning to heat up, so are the bats of the Crimson. If it can get its pitching and fielding up to the same level, the team believes it has a chance to win plenty of games.

“When we get all three of those things going, the results are going to be amazing,” Groom said.
Because of this increase in competition, Harvard feels like it is still in the thick of the championship hunt, despite having to play catch up.

“Honestly, the conference this year is anybody’s game,” Appelbe said. “The next 16 games, we are fighting every inning to win every pitch.”

—Staff writer Jacob W. Lynch can be reached at jacoblynch@gmail.com.