Batswomen Sweep Quakers in Ivy Opener

Take out the brooms.

The Harvard softball team (13-10 overall, 2-0 Ivy) followed a doubleheader sweep of Fordham on Saturday by sweeping two more from Penn, 3-0 and 7-4, yesterday at Soldiers Field in its Ivy opener.

And the Crimson did it with good softball.

"We just keep getting better as the season goes on," Coach Barry Haskell said. "We made a commitment to staying mentally focused, and this weekend, we really followed through."

The two victories over the Quakers puts Harvard on the right path, one that could lead the Crimson to its first Ivy League title. But Harvard still has three more league doubleheaders to play, including a twinbill against Ivy power Princeton at the end of the season.

The first game showcased the style of play usually necessary for a Harvard victory. Great pitching. Great defense. Just enough timely hitting.

In the fifth inning, Liz Crowley followed Beth Wambach's one-out triple to center with a line drive up the middle, giving Harvard a 2-0 lead.

The Crimson picked up another insurance run in the sixth when Rachel Donaldson smacked a triple down the rightfield line and came home on Co-Captain Nancy Prior's single.

The three runs were more than enough for Harvard ace pitcher Julie Fromholz. The freshman cruised through the Penn line-up, allowing only one hit over the last four innings.

But Fromholz did have to rely on her defense.

Beth Reilly made a dazzling diving stop of a Quaker smash and got up in time to throw out the batter in stemming one Penn rally. Liz Crowley also came up big, scooping up a Quaker single and nailing a disbelieving runner at the plate--a common occurrence which helps show why Crowley's throws make gun-control lobbyists cringe.

Penn also threatened in the seventh with two outs by putting two runners on with a base hit and an error. But Donaldson ended the game by making a hard grounder into the hole look like a routine play.

Harvard took the second game with a little more adversity.

The Crimson hustled a run in the first inning to take an early lead. Prior led off with a single to left. With one out, Wambach grounded to third baseman Cherie Kagan. Kagan had to hurry her throw to first as Wambach sped to first. The throw bounded by the first baseman. Prior took third and went on to score on Bev Armstrong's fly to center.

Penn showed Harvard what it felt like to be losing--a feeling it hadn't had in over a week--in the top of the third.

Up to that point, Lee Polikoff had been dominating Penn batters. But with two outs, the Quakers struck for four straight singles, capped by Jill Ward's two-run bases-loaded blooper that gave Penn a 2-1 advantage.

Haskell then brought in Co-Captain Lora Rowning, who has just rebounded from her thumb injury and made a brief appearance in the Fordham game. The senior came up big, forcing Mari Kai to ground out for the final out of the inning.

Harvard came back in the bottom of the third with one of its biggest offensive displays of the season. Prior again got things going by drawing a lead-off walk. Reilly followed with a bunt which produced another throwing error. Wambach tied the game with a hard single. Crowley then walked to load the bases.

Up came Armstrong, who proceeded to ground to Natalie Gardiner. But the ensuing throw home bounded to the backstop, and Harvard led again, 4-2.

The Crimson scored two more runs in the inning with simple fundamentals. Fromholz and Ellen Cox each hit RBI groundouts to second--the type of hitting which will make any coach happy.