Lack of Offense Results in Crimson Shutout

In virtually all sports, a shutout is an unsettling term. Most talented, winning teams aren’t on the losing end when this word is being uttered in game recaps.

Harvard softball (19-10, 5-3 Ivy) got a wake-up call in Green Line territory on Thursday afternoon, losing in a shutout to Boston University (25-11). Not including yesterday, the Crimson has been shut out in its last five losses.

Although shutouts normally delineate a severely unbalanced game or ailing team, not only is Harvard having a good season, but they also have a winning record on the road (9-5). The problem yesterday evening was not the Terriers’ pitching—while pitcher Kelley Engman pitched an impressive full seven innings with only four hits, it was no Cy Young performance, as she had just two strikeouts.

“Offense, that’s our main focus,” Crimson coach Jenny Allard said. “[Engman] was effective on the mound, but I think we could have hit the ball better.”

Harvard had just four hits in 25 at bats in the game, but ball contact is not reflected in hit statistics. In many cases, players would connect with the ball, but only produce an easy out inside the diamond. Meanwhile, BU was able to produce three runs with just one more hit than the Crimson, totaling five for the game.

In order to explain the pestering “0” in their loss column this season, Harvard players have looked inward. They believe that their offense was simply out of tune against the Terriers, and that this problem can be easily rectified.

“We’re hitting shots, we’re just hitting them right at people,” co-captain Bailey Vertovez said. “We just need to relax a little bit more in the box.”

“We needed to make adjustments and go with an aggressive mentality earlier in the game,” Allard said.

For any tardy fan who showed up at the top of the 6th inning yesterday, the game had no sign of a likely victor. Neither the scoreboard nor the stat sheet had much convincing evidence. BU had scored the game’s only run up to that point in the third inning, and both teams executed well defensively and on the mound. Neither the Terriers nor the Crimson were busting any stitches from the plate.

“We pitched well enough to win, we just have to give them some offense,” Vertovez said. “We’re all pressing really hard on ourselves. We need to do it with the bats.”

Harvard has given up five runs or less in each of its last sixteen games, and they’ve scored five runs or more in each of its last five wins. The Crimson defeated BU in both of their matchups last season. Needless to say, there is no curse, no losing streak, and no fundamental troubles with putting the bat on the ball. Without an identifiable, chronic difficulty, offensive problems seem to be inexplicable.

“We’re in an offensive slump, and we need to pull ourselves out,” Allard said. “We’ve been changing up the lineup, doing more drills in practice, attacking and trying to improve. Working on our confidence.”

BU pulled further ahead late in the game by adding runs to its slim lead. After the Terriers scored twice in the sixth inning, giving them a 3-0 advantage, Harvard showed a late flicker, posing a threat in the final inning with consecutive singles. BU closed the game out moments later, as shortstop Melissa Dubay caught a rocket line drive off the bat of Crimson junior Melissa Schellberg and tossed the ball to Emily Roesch, who stomped on second base for a 6-4-3 double play.

Harvard is confident that its performance will be strong in coming weeks. Perhaps context will ignite its offense this weekend, as Harvard faces Yale at home on both Saturday and Sunday.

“It’s Ivies, so this is when it really counts,” Vertovez said. “Come this weekend, we’re going to want to kill Yale.”

The Crimson is not welcoming any more visits from the dreaded, hollow integer. Harvard has a shot at redemption on April 30th, when the team once again faces BU in the regular season finale. Until then, the players must get into a new rhythm over the next seven games.

“Hitting is contagious,” Vertovez said.

One hit, one run, one win at a time. One is far from zero.