Pitching, Defense Dominate in Four-Game Sweep

Limiting Brown to one run a day, the Harvard softball team swept two doubleheaders from the Bears this weekend at Soldiers Field.

By blanking Brown (7-28, 1-15 Ivy), the Crimson (24-12, 9-5 Ivy) maintained its one-game lead over in the Ivy League North Division. Dartmouth won all four of its games against Yale this weekend.

The two contenders will play four games next weekend, with a berth in the Ivy Championship Series at stake.

“We knew we needed to come and win all four games to set ourselves up for next weekend,” freshman pitcher Dana Roberts said.

HARVARD 6, BROWN 1

Freshman Jennifer Francis hit the first two home runs of her collegiate career as Harvard completed the sweep on Senior Day.

Francis, pinch-hitting for freshman designated hitter Lauren Murphy in the fifth, hit a solo shot to center and added another to left in her next at-bat. Senior Susie Winkeller hit a solo home run of her own in the fifth, her fourth of the year.

The pitching easily made the lead hold up.

Junior Shelly Madick started threw four shutout innings and picked up the win to improve to 11-3.

Classmate Amanda Watkins threw a scoreless fifth in relief, and Roberts closed it out, allowing only an unearned run in two innings of work.

The Crimson touched Bears starter Kristen Schindler in the third. Sophomore Bailey Vertovez singled with the bases loaded to to plate one and captain second baseman Julia Kidder walked to bring home another.

Harvard also scored on a double steal—by junior first baseman Danielle Kerper and freshman third baseman Melissa Schellberg—for the fourth time in as many games.

HARVARD 3, BROWN 0

Roberts flirted with a perfect game in yesterday’s opener, allowing only one hit while facing the minimum 21 batters and throwing only 65 pitches.

“She has been very clutch for us,” Harvard coach Jenny Allard said. “She is very efficient on the mound, she doesn’t waste a lot of pitches, and she tied up [Brown’s] hands a lot. It was great to see.”

Perfect through the first five innings, Roberts gave up a leadoff single to Linnea Anderson in the sixth. Anderson was lifted for a pinch runner, who was promptly thrown out by sophomore catcher Hayley Bock.

The Bears could do little against Roberts but hit the ball on the ground. Roberts induced 14 groundouts and was backed up by solid infield defense, including gems by Schellberg and Kidder.

“We really had a phenomenal defense today,” Roberts said. “They really picked me up when I was pitching. I can always count on Melissa at third and Julia at second and everyone to really step and play great defense.”

The Crimson got two runs in the second, thanks to some great baserunning. Francis and freshman center fielder Stephanie Krysiak executed a double steal of home and second, respectively, and Krysiak came around to score on a bloop single to center by Kidder.

Murphy added an RBI single in the fifth for the third and final run.

HARVARD 6, BROWN 1

Timely two-out hitting allowed the Crimson to slowly pull away from Brown as it completed the afternoon sweep on Saturday.

In each inning from the second to the fifth, Harvard got a run-scoring hit with two outsm as it pulled out to a 4-0 lead.

Watkins held the lead on the mound. She went six strong innings, allowing just three hits and one run on a solo homer by Bears first baseman Liz Anderson in the top of the sixth. Watkins improved to 7-1 on the year.

The Crimson padded its lead with two runs in the bottom of the sixth. After a leadoff double by Schellberg, her second two-bagger of the day, Krysiak knocked a bunt past the drawn-in infield to score pinch runner Marguax Black. Krysiak reached third on a sacrifice bunt by Kidder and an error and came home on another well-executed double steal.

Krysiak had a big day at the plate out of the ninth spot in the lineup. She went 3-for-3, including a triple, with two RBI and two runs scored.

“She was getting those short hits which were great for slappers,” Kidder said. “But then she also could hit it over the right fielder for a triple. She was doing it all today.”

HARVARD 4, BROWN 0

Madick shut Brown down in the weekend opener, allowing just two hits and no walks, while striking out nine.

Madick didn’t even let a ball out of the infield until the sixth inning in the first of two dominant starts by Harvard pitchers on the day.

“Giving up one run in 14 innings is unbelievable,” Kidder said. “It’s everything we could ask for as an offense, as a defense, and as a team.”

The Crimson scored twice in the first on two hits and two Bears errors. Murphy drove in one with a double and scored the second on a double steal with Kerper.

Harvard doubled its lead in the third on a two-run double from Bock.

—Staff writer Ted Kirby can be reached at tjkirby@fas.harvard.edu.