Rocket Arm, Rookie Keys to Weekend Matchup

The NCAA Division I softball tournament begins today, and for the first time since 1998, the Harvard women will be there. The Crimson earned an automatic bid by capturing the Ivy League title when it defeated Penn back on May 5.

The 64-team tournament opens with 16 groups of four playing double elimination tournaments across the country. The Crimson will compete in the Hempstead Regional that includes Albany, 7th overall seed Baylor, and host, Hofstra. The winner of the region will move on to the super-regional next weekend to compete for a spot in the Softball World Series.

“We are excited to see how we face-up,” senior captain Julia Kidder said. “If we play our game anything can happen.”

SCOUTING HOFSTRA

Harvard plays its first game today at 2 p.m. against the Pride. Entering the contest the Crimson (31-13, 16-6 Ivy) has won 18 of its last 20 games. But it is not the only team that has been enjoying a slew of “W’s” lately. Hofstra (40-13, 17-3 Colonial) enters the weekend riding a 15-game win streak that dates back to April 6.

The teams are similar in two other key ways: each has a big arm and big bat.

For the Crimson they are junior hurler Shelly Madick and freshman slugger Lauren Murphy.

Madick posted a 16-4 record this year, struck out 139 batters in 135 innings of work, and has an ERA of 1.45. In the Ivy Championship Series she dominated a strong Quaker line-up, throwing a complete game shutout in the first contest before coming in and closing-out the second.

Madick was named Ivy Pitcher of the Year and second team All-Northeast region by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. There should be little question that Madick is the real deal.

Murphy, who fittingly enters the batters box to DMX’s “Here comes the Boom,” set the Ivy League home run record (18) in her first season with the Crimson in addition to knocking in 47 RBI and hitting at a team-leading clip of .359. Murphy was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year and first team All-Northeast.

If Murphy’s heroics are going to continue though, she is going to have to produce against the Pride’s star sophomore pitcher Kayleigh Lotti. Lotti is averaging 9.88 strikeouts per seven innings, good enough for top 15 in the nation. Lotti was named Colonial Athletic Conference pitcher of the year and after winning her last 16 decisions seems primed for another impressive weekend.

And, just as Madick can count on Murphy to go deep, Lotti has her own long-ball counter part in senior outfielder Ashley Lane. Lane holds the Hofstra school record for home runs with 40 and the record for RBIs with 180. Nine of the deep blasts and 44 RBIs have come this year.

“The key is going to be every single person playing the best game they have ever played,” Kidder said.

SCOUTING ALBANY

Albany, the American East Champion, is set to make its third straight NCAA tournament appearance. The region’s fourth seed, the Great Danes (33-15, 11-9 A-East) are led by senior third basemen Kelly Ogden who has blasted 10 home runs to go with 43 RBI and a batting average of .357.

Ogden is not the only capable Albany hitter. Two other starters, Amber Maisonet (.387) and Michelle Connors (.338) are batting above the .300 mark.

The Great Danes will begin the tournament taking on top seeded Baylor today.

SCOUTING BAYLOR

The Big 12 regular season champions are the 8th overall seed in the tournament and the top seed in the Hempstead Regional. The Lady Bears (45-13, 14-3 Big 12) are a deep squad that had six players named to the All-Big 12 Conference team.

Baylor’s pitching staff features Big 12 Rookie of the Year, Kristen Shortidge, who posted a 16-3 record and an ERA of 1.84 and Lisa Ferguson who recently became the Lady Bear’s career leader in victories and has 21 this year.

But Baylor is the team to beat not because of its pitching but because of its prolific offense. As a team it is hitting .316 with 52 home runs. Leading the Lady Bears at the plate is senior Ashley Monceaux who is batting .399 on the year, and, having cleared the fence 16 times, is always a threat to go deep.

Baylor’s other great weapon is its quickness on the base paths. On the year the squad as a whole has stolen 131 bases, only being picked off 22 times, a success rate of nearly 90%.

“They will be the toughest hitting team that we have faced this year,” head coach Jenny Allard said. “They are also very fast…Being able to counter act their speed will be very key.”

—Staff writer Julia R. Senior can be reached at jrsenior@fas.harvard.edu.