Softball Sweeps Vermont

The Harvard softball team wasn't a very good guest this past Saturday up at Burlington, Vermont. Harvard  1  4 Vermont  0  1

Either that or Vermont was a very giving host. For the Crimson (20-12, 7-3 Ivy) snapped the Catamounts' eight-game home winning streak at A.T. Post Field, winning 1-0 and 4-1.

The Crimson has now won three games in a row and 10 of its last 11 games.

Harvard's pitchers overpowered the Catamounts (16-15), as freshmen Tasha Cupp and Heather Brown yielded but one run (none earned) on the afternoon. Cupp went the distance in the first, yielding only three hits while striking out five. Brown hurled the first five innings of the second, and Cupp came in to pick up the save, shutting Vermont down over the final two innings.

"The pitching was the key to our victories," senior Cheryl Sadow said. "Cupp pitched outstanding, and Brown was wonderful, too."

Harvard I, Vermont 0

The gloomy weather produced a perfect background for the big mystery of the first game.

The enigma--Vermont presented a pitcher with no speed and no movement, yet Harvard managed only six hits and one run.

The lone run came in the top of the fifth, as sophomore Sara Cushman singled to lead off and moved to third after the Catamounts botched two Crimson bunts. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Cushman scored on a passed ball.

However, Harvard failed to capitalize further and stranded a pair of runners in scoring position.

Poor hitting was the one flaw for Harvard in the game. The Crimson constantly popped up, the result of swinging too early rather than waiting on Catamount Wendy Houston's meatballs.

"The first pitcher was so slow," junior Amy Reinhard said. "We just weren't waiting."

Harvard had little to fear from the Catamounts, however, as Cupp was on her game. The freshman allowed only three baserunners on the afternoon, striking out six while walking none.

In fact, Vermont hit less than a half-dozen balls out of the infield in the game. But when they make good contact, Harvard made the plays.

"We played excellent defense," Cupp said.

Harvard 4, Vermont 1

The Crimson's overall hitting didn't improve in game two, but this time Harvard took advantage of its opportunities better.

After falling behind 1-0 in the first inning, the Crimson scored a pair of runs in both the third and fifth innings to take a 4-1 lead. The strong pitching of Brown and Cupp made the lead hold up for the win.

The Crimson committed an error in the first inning, and the Catamounts capitalized. Vermont's Jen Baccaro doubled home Denise Brown for her team's lone run on the afternoon.

But remember, the Catamounts were gracious hosts. They committed three errors on the afternoon, and a passed ball scored Harvard's first run to tie the game at 1-1 in the third.

"We didn't play our best defense today," Vermont coach Pam Childs said.

Freshman Jenny Franzese (2-4, two runs scored) earned her way on base with a long triple in the third, and she scored on the Vermont catcher's miscue. Reinhard (2-4, one RBI, two runs scored) scored the second run of the inning to give Harvard a 2-1 lead.

In the fifth, Franzese against got on base, this time by way of a single. Reinhard doubled her home, and freshman Kara Hartl followed suit with an RBI single to end the scoring.

Harvard next hosts Central Connecticut State in a doubleheader tomorrow afternoon. On Thursday, the team travels to UMass-Lowell for a pair of games before it returns home for an Ivy League twinbill against Dartmouth on Saturday.

If the Crimson sweeps the two games against the Big Green, it will finish in second place in the Ivy League. And if Harvard should win all six, it has a good shot at an ECAC Tournament invitation.

"I expect to win all six," Sadow said. "If we win all six, we should have a chance at the ECACs."