Sweep Success

As soon as yesterday’s pair of games against Quinnipiac at Soldiers Field was added to its schedule, the Harvard softball team had two more victories under its belt.

The Crimson (7-9) breezed through a double-header that it picked up just two days ago and seized the opportunity to prove that it was ready for the Ivy League season, which opens tomorrow.

Harvard gave the Bobcats (5-15) no chance to win, combining hot team pitching and defense with an explosive offense, particularly in the first game. The two victories extended the team’s winning streak to five games, an extraordinary feat considering that the nine games before that were all losses.

“We had a rough start at the beginning of the season,” sophomore second baseman Julia Kidder said. “It’s nice to see our team is coming together, finally.”

HARVARD 4, QUINNIPIAC 1

Trailing by one in the bottom of the fifth inning, Harvard knew it had to break out its bats if it wanted to sweep the Bobcats.

Senior outfielder Lauren Stefanchik hit a one-out single to left field. Kidder then knocked a line drive down the left-field line deep enough that Stefanchik scored from first base, tying the score at one. Kidder stole third and scored off freshman Danielle Kerper’s bloop hit to shallow left field.

After the Crimson took the lead, there was no looking back. Harvard kept the Bobcats bats silent in the sixth, and extended its lead in the bottom of the inning. Junior Rachel Murray hit a lead-off single and sophomore Lauren Brown bumped her to second with a sacrifice bunt.

Junior Erin Halpenny , earning time at catcher, hit an RBI double down the left-field line and scored when junior co-captain and centerfielder Kerry Flaherty reached first on an error.

Junior pitcher Michelle McAteer started her first game since returning from an injury. She was pitching a shut-out until the third inning, when she allowed Quinnipiac to score on an error, but the Crimson wasn’t discouraged by the early deficit.

“We were confident, even when we got behind, that we could come back,” Brown said.

Freshman Shelly Madick pitched the final 4 1/3 innings of the game, allowing just two hits and striking out five to get the win.

HARVARD 8, QUINNIPIAC 0

With a 7-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning in the first game of its afternoon double-header, Harvard knew it needed only one run to win the game. The team had held the Bobcats off the board and could eliminate any room for a comeback with a mercy rule-clinching score.

Sophomore right fielder Susie Winkeller started the rally with a single. The next two batters walked to load the bases. As soon as pinch-hitting sophomore Sarah Shaughnessy made contact with the softball, Winkeller ran home without looking back, scoring the winning run.

Harvard wasted no time proving its power at the plate. In the bottom of the first, Kerper blasted a three-run homer over the fence in centerfield to make it 3-0. The Bobcats ended the Crimson threat by recording two quick outs, but Harvard held them scoreless through the top of the second inning and came back full force in the bottom half.

Senior Beth Sabin led off the frame with a homer to right. Brown walked and Stefanchik reached first on an error, bumping Brown to third. Stefanchik pulled off her first of three steals on the day, swiping second right before Kidderlaunched a homer over the right-field fence—the first homer of her collegiate career.

Qunnipiac reliever Kim Norman kept the Crimson scoreless in the third and fourth innings before Shaughnessy plated Winkeller with the game-winner in the fifth.

The only real threat to Harvard freshman starter Amanda Watkins’s shutout came in the top of the fifth inning.

Brandi Simon hit a lead-off double, but catcher Annie Dell’Aria made a nice catch behind the plate on a botched sacrifice attempt by Jill Viglione. However, the next two batters got on to load the bases.

Watkins showed surprising maturity in getting out of the jam.

“Everyone was feeling good at that point and we still felt that we had control of the game,” she said.

Her confidence paid off as she struck out the next batter and forced the following hitter to pop out. Watkins, after notching her second win of the season, was happy with the team’s performance.

“I have high expectations for the Ivy season,” Watkins said. “We’ve played a lot of tough teams and we are not going to be intimidated.”

The victory was Crimson coach Jenny Allard’s 250th at the helm of the team.