Softball Advances To NCAA Regional

"It feels like a dream. It doesn't feel real," said senior leftfielder Hillary Read. "I watched the [women's] basketball team do it this winter, and I admire those guys so much, and it's hard to believe we're following their example right now."

If the Harvard women's basketball team set the stage, Harvard softball is taking the curtain call.

Harvard (33-20, 12-0 Ivy) continued its history-making ways Friday when it swept Holy Cross (31-19-1, 15-5 Patriot League), 7-4 and 6-0, in a best-of-three-game NCAA Play-In Series at Soldiers Field to earn the program its first-ever bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The Crimson found out last night that it will head to Amherst, Mass. as the No. 4 seed to face the top-seeded Oklahoma Sooners (47-13) in Region Five on Friday afternoon. The other two teams in Harvard's Region are host UMass (42-12) and Boston College (38-12-1).

There are eight Regional sites, each with four teams competing in a three day, double-elimination tourney. The winning team from each Region will advance to the Women's College world Series in Oklahoma City.

"It feels great. It's very exciting," said Harvard Coach Jenny Allard. "We've never done it as Harvard softball. These kids have never done it. It's unchartered territory. As a head coach, it's very satisfying as well."

Harvard was led to victory on Friday by Read's outstanding day at the plate. Read was a combined 4-for-6 with seven RBI and the first two home runs of her career, a two-run shot in the opener and a three-run blast in the nightcap.

In addition to earning the team a first-ever bid to NCAAs, Harvard's two wins gave it 33 for the season, the most ever by a Crimson softball squad. The previous record of 32 victories was set last year.

Harvard 7, Holy Cross 4

Harvard sent ace Tasha Cupp to the mound in the first game, and while she was not as dominating as she has been lately,she delivered a fine outing to lead the Crimson tothe win. Battling through soreness in her pitchingarm, Cupp (16-5) threw a complete game and allowedsix hits and one walk while striking out two. Herfour runs were all unearned.

The game was scoreless until Harvard struckfirst in the bottom of the third. Co-captaincenterfielder Jenny Franzese led off the inningwith a double over the head of Holy Cross'sleftfielder. Franzese came around to score whenjunior catcher Terri Teller ripped an RBI singleinto right.

HARVARD  7HOLY CROSS  4HARVARD  6HOLY CROSS  0

The score did not remain 1-0 very long. AsTeller stood on first, Read caught a pitch belthigh with a swing that immediately left no doubtsas to where the ball would land. A few secondslater, the ball was lying behind the leftfieldfence, and Read was enjoying the first home runtrot of her career.

"[The ball] has never looked that big to mebefore," Read said. "I've never even hit one outin practice. It's just never happened. I don'tknow how to describe it."

Holy Cross answered Harvard's challengequickly. In the top half of the fourth, theCrusaders--aided by some good luck and a Harvarderror--tacked two runs on the board to pull withinone.

The rally began when Holy Cross junior JenniferJenkins sent a sharp grounder to second. Harvardjunior co-captain Tara LaSovage bobbled the ballinitially, and her throw to first was too late toget Jenkins.

Jenkins advanced to second on a slow grounderto short, which sophomore Deborah Abeles convertedinto a 6-3 fielder's choice. Cupp issued a walk tosenior Allison Egbert and, with two out and twoon, sophomore Sara Thomas barely caught a piece ofa pitch and blooped it over second and intocenterfield. As Jenkins was waved around third,Franzese came charging in and fired a strike tothe plate ahead of Jenkins. But Teller wasoff-balance and could not bring the tag around intime; Thomas took second base on the throw.

Holy Cross sophomore Briana Crane was the nextbatter, and she dropped another Texas Leaguer intoshallow right-field past LaSovage's outstretchedglove. Egbert scored easily from third, and Thomasslid into third just ahead of junior Karen Rice'sthrow, which allowed Crane to take second.

The damage might have been worse, but with thescore 3-2 and runners at second and third, Cuppblew a pitch past senior Amy Falite to end theinning.

Harvard wasted no time in regaining itsthree-run advantage. In the bottom half of theframe, sophomore Jessie Amberg drew a leadoff walkand moved to second on a sacrifice bunt byLaSovage.

Two batters later, Abeles stepped up to theplate and added some more excitement to thecontest. The sophomore shortstop sent a toweringhome run soaring over the leftfield fence for herIvy League-best 10th round-tripper of the year.The ball landed approximately 50 feet beyond thefence.

"[The pitch] was pretty meaty, so I guess if Ididn't [hit it out] it would be a disappointment,"Abeles said. "I just saw the ball well and took acut."

Still, Holy Cross would not go down without afight. In the top of the sixth inning, theCrusaders once again pulled to within one when,with runners at the corners, first baseman GhiaGodfree's throw to the plate bounced by Teller androlled into the Holy Cross dugout. Two runs camein on the play to make the score 5-4.

But Harvard added some insurance in the bottomof the inning, courtesy of Read. With the basesloaded, Read calmly stroked a single into center,plating Cupp and Franzese. Cupp then retired theside in the top of the seventh to give Harvard itsfirst-ever NCAA postseason victory.

"The first game was a little closer than wewould have liked," Abeles said. "The second gamewas better momentum for Regionals."

Harvard 6, Holy Cross 0

If hitting won the opener for the Crimson,pitching was the key to completing the two-gamesweep. Freshman Chelsea Thoke was dominant on thehill, baffling Holy Cross hitters throughout theday.

Thoke (14-9) struck out seven batters en routeto a complete game, two-hit shutout. She retiredthe first seven batters she faced and allowed theball to leave the infield just three times, twicefor fly ball outs.

"I was going at the batters," Thoke said. "Iwas pitching my three favorite pitches: my change,my screwball and my curve. I was mixing it up, andthey couldn't touch me that way. I just have tocontinue that into Regionals."

"Chelsea was just dominant," Allard said. "Shehad a lot of confidence against [Holy Cross]. Shebeat them before, they weren't strong against herand she knew it. Chelsea's amazing when she'son--that's her typical pitching."

With Thoke stupefying the Crusaders,Harvard--the visiting team in the secondgame--earned the only run it needed in the firstinning, and Franzese nearly manufactured it alone.After singling into left, Franzese stole secondand took third on a passed ball. She scored easilywhen Teller singled into left, and Harvard took a1-0 lead.

"It feels like everything's coming together.It's taken us four years, but we're finallythere," Franzese said. "Everybody was hitting theball well. I was really happy for everybody.Everyone was making good contact. Today was agreat day."

It remained a one-run contest until Harvardblew it open in the fifth with five runs on fivehits. Amberg started the affair with a lead-offdouble into the left centerfield gasp, and LaSovagefollowed with a slap-bunt single to short.Franzese's sacrifice bunt up the first-base lineadvanced the runners and brought Abeles to theplate.

Abeles ripped the first pitch she saw up themiddle, and Amberg and LaSovage both came aroundto score. Teller followed with a seeing-eye singleinto right, and sophomore Crystal Springer came into pinch run for her. That is when Read stepped tothe plate and capped off a tremendous afternoon.

Read tagged a pitch over the left-centerfieldwall for a three-run dinger, her second of theday, that put the game out of Holy Cross's reach.

"Terri Teller had a great day; she made it easyby driving in a lot of runs before me," Read said."And [Abeles] showed that the weather wasconducive to hitting home runs--she hit a good oneherself. And [Franzese] was on base all the time.

"As a team, we really hit well. I don't thinkwe've busted out like that for a while. So it feltgood."

"Amazing, amazing, amazing," said9NCAAsCrimsonMellissa J. CrockerGOIN' BACK TO AMHERST: The Harvardsoftball team reacts to the announcement that theCrimson will play Oklahoma in the first game ofthe NCAA Regionals.

The game was scoreless until Harvard struckfirst in the bottom of the third. Co-captaincenterfielder Jenny Franzese led off the inningwith a double over the head of Holy Cross'sleftfielder. Franzese came around to score whenjunior catcher Terri Teller ripped an RBI singleinto right.

HARVARD  7HOLY CROSS  4HARVARD  6HOLY CROSS  0

The score did not remain 1-0 very long. AsTeller stood on first, Read caught a pitch belthigh with a swing that immediately left no doubtsas to where the ball would land. A few secondslater, the ball was lying behind the leftfieldfence, and Read was enjoying the first home runtrot of her career.

"[The ball] has never looked that big to mebefore," Read said. "I've never even hit one outin practice. It's just never happened. I don'tknow how to describe it."

Holy Cross answered Harvard's challengequickly. In the top half of the fourth, theCrusaders--aided by some good luck and a Harvarderror--tacked two runs on the board to pull withinone.

The rally began when Holy Cross junior JenniferJenkins sent a sharp grounder to second. Harvardjunior co-captain Tara LaSovage bobbled the ballinitially, and her throw to first was too late toget Jenkins.

Jenkins advanced to second on a slow grounderto short, which sophomore Deborah Abeles convertedinto a 6-3 fielder's choice. Cupp issued a walk tosenior Allison Egbert and, with two out and twoon, sophomore Sara Thomas barely caught a piece ofa pitch and blooped it over second and intocenterfield. As Jenkins was waved around third,Franzese came charging in and fired a strike tothe plate ahead of Jenkins. But Teller wasoff-balance and could not bring the tag around intime; Thomas took second base on the throw.

Holy Cross sophomore Briana Crane was the nextbatter, and she dropped another Texas Leaguer intoshallow right-field past LaSovage's outstretchedglove. Egbert scored easily from third, and Thomasslid into third just ahead of junior Karen Rice'sthrow, which allowed Crane to take second.

The damage might have been worse, but with thescore 3-2 and runners at second and third, Cuppblew a pitch past senior Amy Falite to end theinning.

Harvard wasted no time in regaining itsthree-run advantage. In the bottom half of theframe, sophomore Jessie Amberg drew a leadoff walkand moved to second on a sacrifice bunt byLaSovage.

Two batters later, Abeles stepped up to theplate and added some more excitement to thecontest. The sophomore shortstop sent a toweringhome run soaring over the leftfield fence for herIvy League-best 10th round-tripper of the year.The ball landed approximately 50 feet beyond thefence.

"[The pitch] was pretty meaty, so I guess if Ididn't [hit it out] it would be a disappointment,"Abeles said. "I just saw the ball well and took acut."

Still, Holy Cross would not go down without afight. In the top of the sixth inning, theCrusaders once again pulled to within one when,with runners at the corners, first baseman GhiaGodfree's throw to the plate bounced by Teller androlled into the Holy Cross dugout. Two runs camein on the play to make the score 5-4.

But Harvard added some insurance in the bottomof the inning, courtesy of Read. With the basesloaded, Read calmly stroked a single into center,plating Cupp and Franzese. Cupp then retired theside in the top of the seventh to give Harvard itsfirst-ever NCAA postseason victory.

"The first game was a little closer than wewould have liked," Abeles said. "The second gamewas better momentum for Regionals."

Harvard 6, Holy Cross 0

If hitting won the opener for the Crimson,pitching was the key to completing the two-gamesweep. Freshman Chelsea Thoke was dominant on thehill, baffling Holy Cross hitters throughout theday.

Thoke (14-9) struck out seven batters en routeto a complete game, two-hit shutout. She retiredthe first seven batters she faced and allowed theball to leave the infield just three times, twicefor fly ball outs.

"I was going at the batters," Thoke said. "Iwas pitching my three favorite pitches: my change,my screwball and my curve. I was mixing it up, andthey couldn't touch me that way. I just have tocontinue that into Regionals."

"Chelsea was just dominant," Allard said. "Shehad a lot of confidence against [Holy Cross]. Shebeat them before, they weren't strong against herand she knew it. Chelsea's amazing when she'son--that's her typical pitching."

With Thoke stupefying the Crusaders,Harvard--the visiting team in the secondgame--earned the only run it needed in the firstinning, and Franzese nearly manufactured it alone.After singling into left, Franzese stole secondand took third on a passed ball. She scored easilywhen Teller singled into left, and Harvard took a1-0 lead.

"It feels like everything's coming together.It's taken us four years, but we're finallythere," Franzese said. "Everybody was hitting theball well. I was really happy for everybody.Everyone was making good contact. Today was agreat day."

It remained a one-run contest until Harvardblew it open in the fifth with five runs on fivehits. Amberg started the affair with a lead-offdouble into the left centerfield gasp, and LaSovagefollowed with a slap-bunt single to short.Franzese's sacrifice bunt up the first-base lineadvanced the runners and brought Abeles to theplate.

Abeles ripped the first pitch she saw up themiddle, and Amberg and LaSovage both came aroundto score. Teller followed with a seeing-eye singleinto right, and sophomore Crystal Springer came into pinch run for her. That is when Read stepped tothe plate and capped off a tremendous afternoon.

Read tagged a pitch over the left-centerfieldwall for a three-run dinger, her second of theday, that put the game out of Holy Cross's reach.

"Terri Teller had a great day; she made it easyby driving in a lot of runs before me," Read said."And [Abeles] showed that the weather wasconducive to hitting home runs--she hit a good oneherself. And [Franzese] was on base all the time.

"As a team, we really hit well. I don't thinkwe've busted out like that for a while. So it feltgood."

"Amazing, amazing, amazing," said9NCAAsCrimsonMellissa J. CrockerGOIN' BACK TO AMHERST: The Harvardsoftball team reacts to the announcement that theCrimson will play Oklahoma in the first game ofthe NCAA Regionals.

The score did not remain 1-0 very long. AsTeller stood on first, Read caught a pitch belthigh with a swing that immediately left no doubtsas to where the ball would land. A few secondslater, the ball was lying behind the leftfieldfence, and Read was enjoying the first home runtrot of her career.

"[The ball] has never looked that big to mebefore," Read said. "I've never even hit one outin practice. It's just never happened. I don'tknow how to describe it."

Holy Cross answered Harvard's challengequickly. In the top half of the fourth, theCrusaders--aided by some good luck and a Harvarderror--tacked two runs on the board to pull withinone.

The rally began when Holy Cross junior JenniferJenkins sent a sharp grounder to second. Harvardjunior co-captain Tara LaSovage bobbled the ballinitially, and her throw to first was too late toget Jenkins.

Jenkins advanced to second on a slow grounderto short, which sophomore Deborah Abeles convertedinto a 6-3 fielder's choice. Cupp issued a walk tosenior Allison Egbert and, with two out and twoon, sophomore Sara Thomas barely caught a piece ofa pitch and blooped it over second and intocenterfield. As Jenkins was waved around third,Franzese came charging in and fired a strike tothe plate ahead of Jenkins. But Teller wasoff-balance and could not bring the tag around intime; Thomas took second base on the throw.

Holy Cross sophomore Briana Crane was the nextbatter, and she dropped another Texas Leaguer intoshallow right-field past LaSovage's outstretchedglove. Egbert scored easily from third, and Thomasslid into third just ahead of junior Karen Rice'sthrow, which allowed Crane to take second.

The damage might have been worse, but with thescore 3-2 and runners at second and third, Cuppblew a pitch past senior Amy Falite to end theinning.

Harvard wasted no time in regaining itsthree-run advantage. In the bottom half of theframe, sophomore Jessie Amberg drew a leadoff walkand moved to second on a sacrifice bunt byLaSovage.

Two batters later, Abeles stepped up to theplate and added some more excitement to thecontest. The sophomore shortstop sent a toweringhome run soaring over the leftfield fence for herIvy League-best 10th round-tripper of the year.The ball landed approximately 50 feet beyond thefence.

"[The pitch] was pretty meaty, so I guess if Ididn't [hit it out] it would be a disappointment,"Abeles said. "I just saw the ball well and took acut."

Still, Holy Cross would not go down without afight. In the top of the sixth inning, theCrusaders once again pulled to within one when,with runners at the corners, first baseman GhiaGodfree's throw to the plate bounced by Teller androlled into the Holy Cross dugout. Two runs camein on the play to make the score 5-4.

But Harvard added some insurance in the bottomof the inning, courtesy of Read. With the basesloaded, Read calmly stroked a single into center,plating Cupp and Franzese. Cupp then retired theside in the top of the seventh to give Harvard itsfirst-ever NCAA postseason victory.

"The first game was a little closer than wewould have liked," Abeles said. "The second gamewas better momentum for Regionals."

Harvard 6, Holy Cross 0

If hitting won the opener for the Crimson,pitching was the key to completing the two-gamesweep. Freshman Chelsea Thoke was dominant on thehill, baffling Holy Cross hitters throughout theday.

Thoke (14-9) struck out seven batters en routeto a complete game, two-hit shutout. She retiredthe first seven batters she faced and allowed theball to leave the infield just three times, twicefor fly ball outs.

"I was going at the batters," Thoke said. "Iwas pitching my three favorite pitches: my change,my screwball and my curve. I was mixing it up, andthey couldn't touch me that way. I just have tocontinue that into Regionals."

"Chelsea was just dominant," Allard said. "Shehad a lot of confidence against [Holy Cross]. Shebeat them before, they weren't strong against herand she knew it. Chelsea's amazing when she'son--that's her typical pitching."

With Thoke stupefying the Crusaders,Harvard--the visiting team in the secondgame--earned the only run it needed in the firstinning, and Franzese nearly manufactured it alone.After singling into left, Franzese stole secondand took third on a passed ball. She scored easilywhen Teller singled into left, and Harvard took a1-0 lead.

"It feels like everything's coming together.It's taken us four years, but we're finallythere," Franzese said. "Everybody was hitting theball well. I was really happy for everybody.Everyone was making good contact. Today was agreat day."

It remained a one-run contest until Harvardblew it open in the fifth with five runs on fivehits. Amberg started the affair with a lead-offdouble into the left centerfield gasp, and LaSovagefollowed with a slap-bunt single to short.Franzese's sacrifice bunt up the first-base lineadvanced the runners and brought Abeles to theplate.

Abeles ripped the first pitch she saw up themiddle, and Amberg and LaSovage both came aroundto score. Teller followed with a seeing-eye singleinto right, and sophomore Crystal Springer came into pinch run for her. That is when Read stepped tothe plate and capped off a tremendous afternoon.

Read tagged a pitch over the left-centerfieldwall for a three-run dinger, her second of theday, that put the game out of Holy Cross's reach.

"Terri Teller had a great day; she made it easyby driving in a lot of runs before me," Read said."And [Abeles] showed that the weather wasconducive to hitting home runs--she hit a good oneherself. And [Franzese] was on base all the time.

"As a team, we really hit well. I don't thinkwe've busted out like that for a while. So it feltgood."

"Amazing, amazing, amazing," said9NCAAsCrimsonMellissa J. CrockerGOIN' BACK TO AMHERST: The Harvardsoftball team reacts to the announcement that theCrimson will play Oklahoma in the first game ofthe NCAA Regionals.