Softball Team Begins Quest for Third Ivy Title in Four Years

The Harvard softball team--a mixture of 10 freshman and 11 returning players, including six first team All-Ivy selections--all returned from the Mar. 3 Worth Invitational in Fullerton, Cali. with four losses under their belts.

But don't be fooled by the 0-4 record--the Crimson has proved last year that non-conference wins aren't everything when it began the 2000 season 4-15 and finished as the Ivy League champion.

The Crimson's four losses at the Worth Invitational came against No. 25 Pacific, New Mexico, No. 3 Cal-Berkeley and No. 9 Cal State Fullerton--all top-30 teams in the preseason rankings that had already played about 20 games going into the tournament.

The Crimson--despite its inability to practice on grass--stayed close into the late innings against its highly-ranked opposition.

"The losses weren't disappointing," said tri-captain Mairead McKendry. "We figured out what we needed to do and what plays didn't work, and we're working through them."

Such early-season losses against the nation's best are a price the Crimson will have to pay if it plans to compete at a national level.

Last year at the NCAA Regionals in Norman, Okla., the Crimson nearly pulled out a tournament win against Northwestern, holding leads of 4-0 and 6-4, before a string of questionable officiating and defensive breakdowns caused the game to slip away. The recent Worth Invitational games were encouraging for the Crimson's future tournament hopes.

"In California, we showed that we could play against top-25 teams," said senior hurler Chelsea Thoke

Those four games were the Crimson's first with a roster split evenly between freshmen and veterans: a very different team dynamic from last year.

"When we first found out how many freshmen were coming, we were taken aback," said sophomore tri-captain Grace Bloodwell. "But it's been really smooth. All 10 of them are so enthusiastic and eager."

"The team has generated a lot of good chemistry," said Harvard Coach Jenny Allard. "The freshmen have come in with a lot of experience."

The freshmen have big shoes to fill, with the loss of graduated stars, including Deborah Abeles '00, who was Harvard's all-time leader in hits, home runs, and RBI. The team took an additional hit when All-Ivy junior pitcher Suzanne Guy decided to take the semester off.

"[The freshmen] are at a disadvantage because they're expected to contribute right away," McKendry said. "There's a lot of pressure on them."

The 10 freshmen do have a distinct advantage in the support that they receive both on and off the field from an accomplished group of veterans. Allard will rotate between her large selection of players to fine-tune her lineup before the Ivy season begins.

"It's still preseason and we have a lot of players," Allard said. "We want to find a good set of role players."

Among the returning players are two of the league's top pitchers--Thoke and Tiffany Whitton.

Thoke will play a pivotal role for the Crimson this year. In 1999, she won Ivy Player of the Year honors after winning seven league games with a 1.12 ERA, despite often pitching both ends of doubleheaders. Thoke, who presently boasts 422 career strikeouts, is on pace to break the school record of 475, which is held by Tasha Cupp '98. She will be a vital leader on and off of the field.

Whitton is Harvard's most versatile player, one who splits the season between the mound and left field. After being sidelined by a quad injury early in the season, she came back to hit .395 for the season from the leadoff spot and post a perfect 3-0 record as a pitcher. In her season debut against Pacific, she gave up just three hits and one unearned run off of a wild pitch through five solid innings.

"We have a lot of depth in pitching," Bloodwell said. "Chelsea and Tiffany are crucial players. Chelsea has had three stellar years and is looking forward to a nice finish."

Behind the plate, the Crimson has the league's best tandem of catchers in McKendry and sophomore Monica Montijo. Both were First-Team All-Ivy players last season.

With a top fielding percentage and an offensive drive, McKendry led the 2000 team with eight home runs and 27 RBI from the cleanup spot. She will be one of the great offensive forces in front of the plate and one of the key defensive forces behind the plate.

Among the returning stars, Montijo had a standout freshman season. However, in the recent game against Berkeley, a Golden Bear slashed Montijo's thigh with her cleats as she was sliding home, leading to a wound that required 300 stitches. Montijo will have the stitches out on Monday and will then wait for approval from the doctor and Allard before returning to the field.

A two-time All-Ivy selection, junior Sarah Koppel will also be a key all-around player for the Crimson. After a few pitching stints early in her career, she has been Harvard's every-day right fielder. Last year, as the big bat following McKendry in the lineup, Koppel hit .333 and finished second on the team with six home runs and 21 RBI.

The only returning starter in the Crimson's infield is junior second baseman Cherry Fu, one of the team's strongest hitters. She boasts a .347 career average and earned Second Team All-Ivy honors last season.

One of the concerns of the 2000 season was the consequence of injury when there was not a clear back-up player at every position.

"One of our big strengths is that we now have at least two players at each position," Thoke said. "In the past, we've only had one person at a position and then they would get injured and we'd have a hard time filling in the position."

The freshmen have been the main fillers of these roles, jumping into their respective places on the team. As such a large part of the team, the freshmen have little margin for error and few games to adjust to college softball.

"I'm really happy about how the freshmen have been stepping up," McKendry said.

A crucial factor in how the Crimson will fare against the highly ranked teams in the country will be how the runs against them are scored. It is essential that they play with few errors, walks and wild pitches.

"Defensively, we look really sharp," Bloodwell said. "I'm biased, but I think we look really sharp in the outfield."

Harvard's defense--which made a league-low 61 errors on the season last year--gave the team a clear advantage over its opponents that struggled with the fundamentals. However, the Crimson could not maintain its strong defense under the lights at last year's NCAA Regionals.

With the exception of three errors committed against Berkeley, Harvard played very well defensively in the Worth Invitational and has high hopes for the rest of the season.

"Our defense is looking really solid, our pitching looks really good, and our hitting is coming along," Allard said.

Along with perfecting plays and stances, the Crimson has also been working on team bonding.

"Socially, everyone hangs out together," Bloodwell said.

The returning players seem pleased with both the ability of the freshmen as well as their ardor to become part of the team.

"Everyday we play together, we get closer," McKendry said. "We rely on each other to do well, but it's great to know that someone will be there to pick you up when you make a mistake."

The games in California gave the Crimson the experience it needed going into the coming weeks of play.

"They're really anxious to play," Allard said. "They can't wait to get into the rhythm of playing games every week."

The upcoming games against Drexel and Boston College will give the Crimson lighter competition than the Worth Invitational.field.

"We're really excited and we're expecting to play really well," Bloodwell said.

"It's a talented young team," Allard said. "They want to continue the Harvard tradition of being one of the top teams and make history by winning back-to-back championships. They want the seniors to leave with three rings. It's a team with a lot of motivation and focus."

Losses to four top-30 teams don't make the Crimson a losing team. They make it a stronger team that's ready to lead the Ivy League with star returning veterans and enthused rookies. They are a team with depth in the field, at the plate, and on the mound that's ready to focus in the games to come.