Bats Wake Up in Game Two After Quiet Opener

It took Round 2 of yesterday’s bout to avenge last year’s heart-wrenching championship-game defeat.

The Harvard softball team (19-9, 5-3 Ivy) dropped the first game of a doubleheader to reigning Ivy League champion Princeton (8-14, 3-5), 1-0, but the Crimson bats came alive in the second game, punishing the Tigers, 5-2. It was the second straight day that Harvard failed to score in the first game, only to be revived by freshman Whitney Shaw.

As she did the day before, Shaw homered in the first inning of the second game to give the Crimson the lead. She outdid herself this time around, going deep again in the third to put the game out of reach.

“I was just coming out, swinging hard,” Shaw said. “We wanted to pick ourselves up from the first game and just really prove to [Princeton] that we weren’t going to lay down and do what we did the first game.”

HARVARD 5, PRINCETON 2

Left with a bitter taste after a disappointing loss, the Crimson came out looking to rebound against the Tigers. Sophomore Emily Henderson walked to set up Shaw with the opportunity to put Harvard up by a deuce. Shaw blasted the ball out of Soldiers Field and arrived at home plate, where the celebration began.

The show wasn’t over, as Shaw added another tally for the Crimson with a solo bomb to left field in the third inning, her third home run of the weekend and her fourth of the season. It was also in the third that co-captain Bailey Vertovez made an impressive diving catch while running with her back towards the ball, one of her many amazing catches of the day. The field provided great support for junior Dana Roberts, who pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings and earned her third win of the season.

“Whitney’s homer fired us up, and I think Bailey played an amazing shortstop today,” freshman pitcher Rachel Brown said. “She made some huge plays and it was a great team effort.”

The scoring wasn’t over, as Harvard put up two more runs in the fifth and sixth innings. Junior Stephanie Krysiak, who is also a Crimson sports editor, started things up in the fifth with her single to third base. Sophomore Ellen Macadam followed with a single of her own, and Henderson’s single advanced Krysiak to third. Princeton pitcher Jamie Lettire grazed Shaw with a pitch, which allowed Krysiak to score.

The Tigers sought to play catch-up, getting two runs off of Brown in the top of the sixth. But the bottom of the frame saw Vertovez plate junior Jennifer Francis.

Francis was the first batter up, and she singled and advanced to second, thanks to a bunt by junior Jessica Pledger, who is also a Crimson photographer. Vertovez stepped up to the plate and battled with Lettire before doubling off the center-field wall. Francis ran home to set the final mark.

Brown sealed the deal in the top of the seventh, striking out two of the last three batters and earning her third save.

PRINCETON 1, HARVARD 0

Despite an excellent outing by Brown, the Crimson couldn’t muster up more than one hit and failed to keep Princeton from scoring in a pivotal fifth inning. Brown started the game strong, striking out seven in the first four innings. Her counterpart, Tigers sophomore Michelle Tolfa, managed to strike out only one and walked five for the game.

It was the fifth inning that put Harvard behind for good. Lettire singled to Vertovez and an error by Krysiak allowed Princeton to put runners on first and third. The Tigers’ Brittney Scott bunted the ball and reached first base as Lettire ran for home and made co-captain and catcher Hayley Bock drop the ball to get the score.

The Crimson couldn’t answer back, failing to get a hit the rest of the game. Brown struck out three more Tigers, ending the game with a total of 10 strikeouts. But the Crimson lacked the offensive spark needed to support Brown’s efforts.

“We didn’t come out with our bats the first game and we need to do that,” Harvard coach Jenny Allard said. “We talked about it before today’s game, coming out strong and being aggressive. We just didn’t execute the first game.”