Softball Splits Pair of Doubleheaders Against Cornell, Princeton

On the road against Cornell (4-16, 1-3 Ivy) and Princeton (7-19, 1-2) in its first Ivy League action of the season, Harvard softball (12-13, 2-2) was unable to capitalize on facing off against the two Ancient Eight teams with the lowest overall records.

Two dominant starts from junior Taylor Cabe carried the Crimson to its two victories of the weekend, one each against the Tigers and the Big Red. Harvard scored 15 combined runs against Cornell while only managing to touch home once against Princeton.

“I think this weekend was a bit frustrating,” senior catcher Rachel Halperin said. “Our team definitely showed up in some moments and really showed that we can dominate a lot of Ivy League teams, but there’s going to be very good competition this year.”

Harvard 1, Princeton 0

In the back end of Saturday’s doubleheader, a fourth-inning Maddy Kaplan home run proved to be the difference maker.

Through three scoreless innings, it was clear that for the second straight game, a pitcher’s duel was brewing. This time, Cabe and Princeton sophomore Ashley La Guardia took turns setting down the opposing team’s batters one after another.

Kaplan broke the tie when she parked the ball over the center-field fence to give the Crimson a one-run advantage.

One run was all the Harvard offense needed to get the job done, as Cabe cruised through the rest of her outing, a dominant complete-game shutout. The junior limited the Tigers to five hits, all of which were singles, and punched out seven, a season best.

Princeton 2, Harvard 0

Despite out-hitting Princeton in the first matchup on Saturday, the Crimson was unable to produce any run support for co-captain Morgan Groom in the circle. Six of the seven Harvard runners stranded in the game were left in scoring position.

“I felt that Morgan Groom really did a wonderful job on the mound,” coach Jenny Allard said. “Princeton’s a tough team, and she really bounced back from a tough start against Cornell.”

Down two runs, the Crimson loaded the bases in a last-ditch effort in the top of the seventh. Freshman Meagan Lantz hit a rope right back up the middle, only to watch Princeton junior second baseman Haley Hineman leap, make the grab, and double off the runner at first to seal the win.

“It was a phenomenal defensive play, so there’s nothing more we could have asked of Meagan Lantz in that situation,” Allard said. “We just needed to put more pressure on them offensively earlier in the game, and we didn’t do that.”

Harvard 9, Cornell 1

Cabe dominated Cornell in Friday’s second game, registering a complete game, one-run performance.

Perfect through four full innings, the righthander took the mound in the fifth looking to continue shutting down the Big Red offense. Perfection would not be long-lived, however, as Cornell sophomore Megan Murray promptly led off with a double into the left-center gap and later scored on a sacrifice fly.

Despite the slight blemish to her pitching line, Cabe still turned in a dominant performance in the circle, earning her seventh win of the year. The junior threw two-thirds of her pitches for strikes and walked just one batter.

The ball was in play almost every at bat on both sides. Each team only struck out once, and Cornell junior Olivia May worked the game’s lone walk.

Cornell 8, Harvard 6

In its first Ivy action, Harvard dropped a close decision to Cornell.

Facing a five-run deficit, the Crimson rallied in the top of the fifth and hung a crooked number on the scoreboard. Harvard tied the game in one turn at bat by sending five runners across the plate, three of which scored when Lantz took Cornell starter Meg Parker deep to left field.

Parker eventually settled down, and the Big Red answered with three runs of its own in the next half inning to secure the win.

—Staff writer Jack Stockless can be reached at jack.stockless@thecrimson.com.