Ivy Unbeatens Meet At Soldiers Field

There may not be a better 2002 Ivy softball doubleheader than tomorrow’s showdown between Harvard and Princeton at noon at Soldiers Field.

The Crimson (18-6, 4-0 Ivy) and the Tigers (21-13, 6-0) enter the weekend as the only undefeated teams left in the Ivies, and Princeton is coming off a sweep of defending Ivy co-champion Cornell.

Harvard, the other defending Ivy co-champion, hopes to fare better—especially since tomorrow’s games and Sunday’s doubleheader against Penn (11-22, 0-6) are its only home Ivy games of the season.

Though the Crimson’s 10-game win streak came to an abrupt end yesterday against Massachusetts, it can take solace in that UMass is the perennial No. 1 team in the Northeast, and the second game was about as close as Harvard has ever come to beating the Minutewomen.

The wake-up call against tough nonleague competition couldn’t have come at a better time.

“These games were good prep for Saturday in terms of just coming out sharp,” said Harvard Coach Jenny Allard.

And while the Crimson lacked the timely hitting it needed to win that second game, its pitching and defense came through in the clutch. Senior Suzanne Guy and sophomore Kara Brotemarkle limited UMass to just one run in the regularly scheduled seven innings, and the team threw out three runners at the plate on the day.

“There’s a lot of pressure in pitching, and I feel all the pitchers on this team handle it very well,” said junior co-captain Tiffany Whitton. “They stay composed. They throw hard and keep us in games.”

Harvard will need its pitchers to continue their exceptional performance to have any shot of beating Princeton’s ace Brie Galicinao. Though her 2002 numbers (10-6, 1.58 ERA) don’t look any more impressive than Guy’s (5-1, 1.44 ERA) or Brotemarkle’s (7-4, 2.02), she has been on a roll lately. In her last six starts, she has given up zero runs and pitched five complete-game shutouts.

Galicinao’s success is nothing new. Last season the Tigers went just 8-6, but she pulled off an unprecedented feat by winning Ivy Player and Pitcher of the Year honors. She led Princeton to victories over both Harvard and Cornell last year by pitching strongly on the mound and hitting mercilessly at the plate.

Galicinao has fallen short of shutting out the Crimson in her career, but she has pitched well. Two years ago, she started off by throwing three perfect innings at Soldiers Field, but Harvard rattled her the rest of the way in a 6-2 Crimson victory.

Last year, current Harvard tri-captain Sarah Koppel roughed her up for a second-inning solo shot, but couldn’t manage any more in a 2-1 defeat. This year, Harvard can only hope that its recent outings have provided better preparation.

Princeton’s rise to the top of the league is due to increased production beyond Galicinao in hitting, pitching and defense. Sophomore Wendy Bingham (6-3, 1.78 ERA) has cut down her ERA by a full run from last year. Senior Kim Veenstra and sophomore Kristen Del Calvo combined for just 22 RBI last season—this year they’ve combined for 47. The team’s 96.8 fielding percentage is now on the brink of the national top 25.

While Harvard has won Ivy titles in three of the last four years, Princeton hasn’t earned a ring since 1996. A year ago, Maureen Davies—a 1997 Princeton alum—took over the head coaching reigns and now has the Tigers’ program within striking distance of its past glory.

Harvard has finished ahead of Princeton in the Ivy standings for four straight seasons.

The Crimson can’t let down at all tomorrow if it wants to make it five straight.

“Softball’s kind of a game of luck and a game of heart,” Whitton said. “What will decide the Princeton games is who wants it more.”