Harvard Softball Struggles against Princeton, Starts Ivy League Play 0-3

History repeated itself in New Jersey this weekend as the softball team (11-7, 0-3 Ivy) fell to Princeton (8-12, 3-0 Ivy) on the road in its Ivy opener— the Crimson yet again unable to beat the Tigers in a rematch of the 2024 Ivy League Tournament Championship game.

Despite ending preseason strong with a six game win streak and two shutouts, Harvard struggled to generate offense through both games of Saturday’s doubleheader, an issue the team faced in some of its early-season losses in North Carolina.

However, the Crimson somewhat found its footing on the second day of competition, just barely falling short in a 8-9 loss despite logging two home runs from senior Maya Douglas and junior Finley Payne as well as their highest number of hits in a game this year.

Harvard 0, Princeton 8

While Harvard has excelled in establishing an early lead throughout the preseason, the Crimson found itself unable to break through Princeton’s defense and get on base at the top of the first inning.

It was instead the Tigers that took the first lead of the game during their at bat, quickly scoring three runs after two walks and a home run from Ivy League Player of the Week Karis Ford.

Princeton’s early lead highlights the issue Harvard’s otherwise strong pitching staff has had with throwing nearly as many walks as strikeouts across almost all of their pitchers. Nevertheless, junior Harvard pitcher Riley Flynn found freshman catcher Quinn Salazar-Stewart’s mitt, bringing a swift end to Princeton’s momentum and ending the inning just three batters later with two foul outs and a strikeout to keep the score 0-3.

The Crimson found better luck its next time up at the plate with Salazar-Stewart starting the action with a single up the middle before quickly stealing her way to second base. Senior Priyanka Kaul soon joined her on the bases with a walk. A bunt from Payne put Harvard in prime scoring position with bases loaded. However, Princeton prevented Salazar-Steward from scoring with a double play, catching a right field fly from freshman Alexa Muller before throwing Salazar-Stewart out at home to end the inning.

Flynn yet again held off the Tiger’s offense through the second inning, but Princeton broke through in the third inning, scoring off a walk and double to left field to extend its lead 4-0.

The game next inning continued scoreless with neither team able to break through until the bottom of the fifth inning where a triple put the Tigers in prime position to score on a left field fly out to make the score 5-0.

Harvard junior Ryan Grace was subbed in to close out the inning before freshman Olivia Torres had her first chance at the mound during conference play, Princeton ultimately scoring three more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to end the game early 0-8.

Harvard 0, Princeton 6

The second game of Saturday’s double header started in very similar fashion to the first, as Harvard struggled to generate offense while Princeton took an early 0-3 lead off two singles and a home run.

After the first inning, though, both teams settled in with stellar pitching staffs and solid defensive plays — not allowing any runs until the bottom of the fourth inning.

Sophomore Nicolette Hunter pitched cleanly through the bottom of the third inning, mitigating much of Princeton’s offense before freshman Linden McCarl subbed in to finish the inning, preventing the Tigers from scoring with runners on second and third base.

Princeton broke the stalemate in the bottom of the fourth inning, when the Tigers capitalized on a series of errors from Harvard’s infield to score a run — leading to Grace stepping onto the mound for McCarl. The Tigers’ momentum carried as two walks and a left field single allowed Princeton to extend its lead to 0-6 before Grace ended the tough inning with a strikeout.

Despite a series of both offensive and defensive subs for the Crimson, nothing seemed to work as both teams again shined defensively. Ultimately Princeton held off Harvard’s attempt at a comeback securing its second shutout of the day.

Harvard 8, Princeton 9

Reinvigorated from a night’s rest after a tough opening day of competition, Harvard’s offense found its form Sunday, establishing an early lead in the first inning of the day’s game.

Sophomore Audrey Szollosi led off strong — as she has all year — with a bunt single, followed by a hit by pitch on Payne to put the Crimson in a good position to start the inning. The team’s offensive momentum continued as a walk from sophomore Sophie Sun gave Harvard a prime scoring opportunity with bases loaded. Salazar-Stewart and Kaul capitalized with RBI singles to give the Crimson its first lead of the weekend, 2-0.

The Tigers responded quickly, scoring their opening run on yet another home run to center field to close up the score 2-1. A walk and single paired with smart base running brought another runner home to tie up the game for Princeton, with a sacrifice bunt one hitter later bringing another runner home to take the lead, 2-3.

Having found its offensive momentum, Harvard responded during its turn at the plate. With two singles and a walk the Crimson yet again found itself with bases loaded. A shot through the right side infield from Payne allowed sophomore pinch runner Megan Davies to tie up the game 3-3. While the Tiger’s managed to throw out senior Savannah Fitzpatrick at home one play later, they couldn’t stop Salazar-Stewart who brought home Szollosi and Payne with a single to right center field, reestablishing Harvard’s lead with a score now of 5-3.

Despite close scoring opportunities from both teams, much like the day before the game continued scoreless with Grace logging two strikeouts per inning.

In the bottom of the fourth inning Princeton found its stride yet again, starting the inning with yet another home run to left field, closing up the score to 5-4.

After senior Katie Arrambide subbed onto the mound, aggressive base running and two walks set the Tigers up in a dangerous position with bases loaded. Two singles off of a subbed in Hunter allowed Princeton to capitalize, retaking a 5-7 lead. Flynn then stepped onto the mound to close out the inning. One last sacrifice fly allowed the Tigers to extend their lead to 5-8 before Flynn struck out the last batter for Harvard’s third out.

Once again, the Crimson would not go out without a fight as freshman Elena Weinseimer started the fifth inning out strong with a left center double. She was brought home as Douglas crushed a home run down the left field line to eat into Princeton’s lead, 7-8. With two outs on the board, Payne continued her stellar hitting, sending a home run to right field to tie up the game 8-8.

Strategic hitting from Princeton allowed it to retake the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning with both a sacrifice bunt and fly bringing a runner home for a close score of 8-9. Despite two more strikeouts from Flynn in the sixth inning, the Crimson couldn’t break through the Tiger’s defense in the last two innings of the game, coming just short of its first win of Ivy League play.

With Columbia, Dartmouth, and Princeton all sweeping their opening series of conference play, Harvard softball sits in sixth in the Ivy League, a disappointing start given the team’s strong preseason performance.

Nevertheless, the Crimson bounced back in its second day of competition, nearly taking one game of the series, and it will no doubt carry that momentum into its second series against Columbia. Harvard softball will return to Soldiers Field this weekend with hopes to take down the current conference leader, playing the Lions in a double header on Friday.

– Staff Writer Sofia Zhang can be reached at sofia.zhang@thecrimson.com