Tigers Sweep Batswomen, Take Ivy Title

It was oh, so close.

All the Harvard softball team needed was one win in its double-header with Princeton Saturday to clinch a share of its first Ivy League title.

But the Tigers had owned that title for six years. And they weren't ready to give it up.

Princeton swept the Crimson, 8-2 and 3-0, to grab its seventh straight Ivy championship in front of 100 spectators at Soldiers Field. The scores weren't close, but the games were. Only a couple of plays separated the Crimson from the needed victory.

"You hate to go out on a sour note, but we were so, so close," Co-Captain Nancy Prior said.

It was just a day of frustration for Harvard.

The Crimson (13-16 overall, 5-3 Ivy) got off to a good start in the first game.

Freshman Julie Fromholz led off the second inning with a single, and the Tigers (6-1 Ivy) booted Jen Clawson's bunt giving the Crimson two on with none out. After sophomore Ellen Cox sacrificed, Fromholz hustled home on a wild pitch by Princeton ace Dawn Roberts to give Harvard a 1-0 lead.

The Tigers were stunned.

"I really thought we were going take it when we scored first," Prior said.

But the Tigers quickly defused the Crimson's enthusiasm in the top half of the third. A walk and four singles gave Princeton four runs and a 4-1 lead.

Harvard had plenty of chances, but simply could not capitalize. Princeton, meanwhile, just kept building its lead.

"We stranded a lot of runners," Prior said. "It's been our biggest problem all year."

Second Time Around

The loss in the first game put that much more importance on the second game. A win was now imperative for the title.

Princeton broke out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Then the game turned into a defensive struggle. Beth Reilly made four straight spectacular catches to rob Princeton of at least two runs, and junior Lee Polikoff and Co-Captain Lora Rowning combined to shut down the Tiger bats.

In the top of the fifth, Princeton received a huge break. With runners on first and third, freshman Vicki Pisowicz grounded a ball down the third base line. The ball hit third base and bounded into left field, scoring two Tigers. The 3-0 lead was looming large.

The Crimson mounted a serious threat in the bottom half of the inning, putting runners on second and third with one out. But when Prior grounded hard to short, there was a little confusion on the basepaths. When the dust cleared, Princeton had turned a douple play. And Harvard remained scoreless.

"We did very well just to get to this point," first-year Coach Barry Haskell said. "We played well, and we played hard. The effort and desire of all 15 players was unquestioned. But Princeton is a very good team, and we just didn't have the timely hitting."

"Our program is definitely on the rise," Haskell added. "The seniors did a tremendous job in sending our program in the right direction."

"The games were really disappointing and frustrating," Prior said, "but we had a great year. Looking back on it, the season as a whole was very satisfying."

THE NOTEBOOK: Harvard had 12 hits on the day, while Princeton racked up 21... Last season the Crimson finished fourth in the Ivy title race last season, and has never before played for the championship...Four seniors played their last game in a Harvard uniform--Prior, Rowning, centerfielder Liz Crowley and designated hitter Brita Lind... The tripledigit attendance is believed to be the largest ever for a Harvard softball game...All fifteen Crimson players saw action in the contest.

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