Softball Keeps Ivy Title Hoops Alive With Sweep

This weekend breathed life into the hopes of Harvard softball, as forces conspired to put the Crimson in a three-way tie in the loss column atop the Ivy standings.

Harvard (18-18, 9-3 Ivy) hopped, hooted, and hollered its way to a sweep over Brown and Yale. The vociferous Crimson squad never went silent, encouraging each other to four wins.

The Crimson's clutch performance kept it even in losses with Dartmouth (16-14, 9-3) and Cornell (29-14, 11-3). Harvard got help from Princeton, as the Tigers split with the Big Red and gave Cornell its all-important third Ivy defeat.

The Crimson needs to sweep the Big Green in order to force a playoff with Cornell. The defending champs head to Hanover to take on Dartmouth next Saturday.

Brown

The Bears (6-30, 3-9) dropped two against the Crimson, as the Harvard hurlers also led the way at the plate.

In game one, a vocal Harvard squad took an early lead and did not look back, winning, 6-2.

Speedy freshman centerfielder Kim Koral slapped a ball through the infield to spark the rally. Sophomore first baseman Tiffany Whitton stepped to the plate with the hit and run on. As Koral took off, Whitton drilled a double and knocked in the Crimson's first run.

"Slapping the ball allows me to get on because of my speed," Koral said. "It's my goal to get on base. Once Tiff comes up, I'm confident she'll bring me in."

Koral paced the offense, going 4-for-6 with three runs scored against the Bears.

Thoke cruised through the Bears line-up for two innings. The hardest hit that she saw came off her own bat in the bottom of the second frame. She launched a solo home run to left, giving Harvard a 2-0 lead. Her unusual power surge of late gives her four home runs. She would connect against Yale the following day for another blast.

Harvard sailed into the fifth before Brown earned a tally. Junior second baseman Julia Iudicello tripled in a run to cut the Crimson lead in half.

The Crimson showed resilience, however, storming back for insurance runs in its next turn at the plate.

Again, Koral sparked the scoring rally, as she chopped a single through the infield. To no one's surprise, Whitton brought her in, doubling to the gap for her second RBI on the day. Junior Sarah Koppel would single Whitton in to increase Harvard's lead to 5-2.

Thoke closed out the game for the Crimson, giving up one run in the seventh. The senior ace notched nine strikeouts and yielded only four hits.

The second game-a 3-0 Harvard win-was all Whitton, as the hurler pitched as well as she hit. Whitton was flawless on the mound for four innings, and dangerous at the plate.

In the third inning, Whitton got the game-winning runs for the Crimson, knocking a two-run home run. In the fifth frame, the familiar combination of Koral and Whitton manufactured yet another Harvard run. Koral, who always seems to be on base, walked, and was brought home on a Whitton double.

"I try to go out and play, to contribute to the team," Whitton said. "Today my hits fell, but it could have been anyone getting the runs."

Yale

Thoke was a star on both sides of the ball again against the Bulldogs.

Aside from pitching six scoreless innings, Thoke connected for an opposite field home run in the second. That would prove to be all the offense the Crimson would need in the 3-0 victory.

Thoke's control of the Bulldog hitters was made abundantly clear in the third inning. She struck out freshman Rina Branen on a ball in dirt, but the pitch squirted past tri-captain Mairead McKendry, allowing Branen to get to first.

Thoke quickly bore down, and struck out three more Bulldogs in the inning, giving her an anomalous four in the frame.

In the fifth inning, Harvard added two more. Again, Koral was central to the Harvard attack, as she came around to scores after slapping a single. Two passed balls by the Yale catcher enabled Whitton to come around for the final Crimson run.

In game two, the Crimson took the lead as early as possible and never looked back. Harvard won, 6-2.

Freshman third baseman Breanne Cooley smacked a home run on the first pitch the Crimson saw. Koral walked to get on base, and Koppel brought her in for Harvard's second run.

The Bulldogs quickly got the run back in the top of the second, as the Crimson had the infield pulled in with the bases loaded. Yale blooped a single to left, and plated its first run of the series.

At that point, freshman hurler Kara Brotemarkle came in to spell Whitton. She pitched 5 2/3 innings without allowing another run.

When pitcher Jillian Miles threw a wild pitch in the bottom of the inning to allow freshman shortstop Rachel Goldberg to score, the Crimson had as many runs as it would need to put the Bulldogs away.

Harvard added a run in the fourth on a Cooley single, and two in the fifth. Sophomore tri-captain Grace Bloodwell singled in two in that frame to round out Harvard's scoring.

The Crimson plays for its Ivy lives this Saturday, requiring a sweep to force the playoff with the Big Red.

"I think we've finally reached the point where everything is clicking, Thoke said. "We have a chance at winning the league after losing three games at the beginning. We're excited to show what we can do now that we are playing so well together."