Crimson Tops UC, IOP, Hillel

Despite shaky pitching and sporadic offensive firepower, the Harvard Crimson softball team was able to avoid its first loss of the season by sweeping the Undergraduate Council, the IOP, and Hillel in a rare three-game weekend of action.

Against the UC (2-1, 1-0 BS) on Saturday, the Crimson (6-0) was held in check for six innings by senior pitcher Jim Griffin and the defense of senior non-Council member Kyle Hawkins. Entering the final inning, the score was knotted at two.

The Crimson bats came alive to break the deadlock with 21 straight runs in the top of the seventh. Sophomore closer Tony Freinberg pitched a perfect bottom half of the inning to close out the 23-2 victory.

The IOP (3-2, 2-1 Kennedy) posed the toughest challenge of the weekend for the Crimson squad in the first game of a doubleheader yesterday. Led by a solo homer from washed-up former U.S. Senate softball league star Benedict “Ben” Dobbs and a run-scoring double from team captain Everett “Clarke” Tucker, the IOP clung to a 2-0 lead heading into the final inning.

Again, as the Crimson had done the day before, it was able to open the offensive floodgates before it was too late. Freshman editorial comper Eric Berger and junior FM chair Ben Mathis-Lilley led the Crimson lineup as it finally figured out how to hit Josh Weiner’s curve ball en route to batting around twice.

Sophomore sportswriter Tyson Hubbard relieved starter Rahul Rohatgi and silenced the IOP bats as the Crimson miraculously took home another 23-2 victory.

In the final game of the doubleheader yesterday afternoon, the Crimson wasted little time in dispatching the Hillel Torah-nados (1-3, 1-0 Maneshevitz). The Crimson sent Jonathan Ungar to the mound and the junior executive did not disappoint, allowing only two runs in a complete game effort.

The Crimson featured Hillel turncoats David Abraham Weinfeld and Alex Ginsberg, who demonstrated extraordinary chutzpa by defecting from their usual team. Weinfeld went 3-for-4 from the plate and Ginsberg impressed in the outfield.

The Crimson team will next square off against the Lampoon and HUPD. A game with the Ad Board is also in the works, though the front office has yet to finalize a date.