Brown’s Pair of Shutouts Set Opening Standard

The Harvard softball team (2-3) left its first preseason tournament with essentially the same answers and questions it had at the beginning of the year.

Sophomore pitcher Rachel Brown was one of those answers, pitching the Crimson to its only two victories of the University of Central Florida Invitational in Orlando, Fla. this weekend. One of the questions for Harvard was how it would score the runs to win games behind its great pitching. That question still remains unanswered, as the Crimson lost a pair of games on Saturday in which it allowed a combined eight hits.

Harvard opened the tournament with an impressive 1-0 win over Georgia Southern (10-6) on Friday, but followed by getting blanked, 9-0, by host UCF (11-8). The Crimson lost a pair of tough games on Saturday to Providence (5-11) and the College of Charleston (6-11) before rebounding yesterday to close out the tournament with a decisive 4-0 shutout of in-state rival Boston College (8-6).

“Rachel had an exceptional start, but the story of the tournament was [that] we had great pitching in four of our games, but the hitting couldn’t come through to win the games for us,” Harvard coach Jenny Allard said. “So we had a team meeting on Saturday, and we came out on fire today, we scored, and we got key hits.”

HARVARD 4, BOSTON COLLEGE 0

Brown pitched a complete-game three-hitter and added nine strikeouts to help the Crimson earn a sweet end to its first preseason tournament of the year. Timely hitting proved key for Harvard, as the team opened the first inning with two runs on three hits and was 4-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Senior Jennifer Francis led the way with a pair of RBI.

“The sun was shining, and we were out there hitting the ball hard right from the first inning,” co-captain Margaux Black said. “That definitely set the tone for our entire season, and that’s the way we want to play every day.”

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 1, HARVARD 0

Freshman pitcher Jess Ferri allowed a leadoff double in the top of the first before sending the runner home on a fielding error to give the Cougars the only run of the game. Ferri rebounded to pitch two-hit ball over the next 5.1 innings, but the Crimson couldn’t string hits together and only managed three hits and six baserunners in the game.

Harvard had its best chance to even the ledger when sophomore shortstop Jane Alexander led off the third with a triple to center field. After a groundout, freshman outfielder Ashley Heritage walked and stole second, but the Crimson lined out and struck out to end both the inning and the only real threat of the game.

PROVIDENCE 3, HARVARD 1

Harvard took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second when sophomore pinch-runner Eve Rosenbaum advanced to third on a wild pitch and senior Stephanie Krysiak batted her home with a two-out RBI single up the middle. Sophomore pitcher Julia Moore pitched four innings of one-hit ball, but gave up two runs in the fourth on a walk, triple, and wild pitch.

The Friars added an insurance run in the sixth, but the Crimson had a great chance to do some damage in the top of the seventh. After Alexander singled to right and advanced to second on a groundout, Krysiak singled to left and stole second, leaving runners on second and third with only one out. In what would become a trend for Harvard Saturday, a groundout followed by a strikeout ended the game and secured the victory for Providence.

CENTRAL FLORIDA 9, HARVARD 0

The host Golden Knights spoiled Ferri’s first collegiate start and took care of business in only five innings. The game remained scoreless through the first two innings until Ferri walked four of the first five batters she faced in the third. After a two-RBI single, Ferri’s first day as a Crimson pitcher was done after only 2.1 innings of work.

HARVARD 1, GEORGIA SOUTHERN 0

Brown, the reigning Ivy Rookie of the Year, did what seems to be automatic for her, as she gave up only three hits in eight innings of work to help Harvard sneak by Georgia Southern, 1-0.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Heritage was placed on second and advanced to third after a Krysiak groundout. Macadam followed by knocking one to shortstop that was mishandled just long enough for Heritage to come home and seal the opener for the Crimson.

“[Rachel] has the poise and confidence of a seasoned veteran,” Black said. “She dominates out there, and she’s very mentally tough. Even if her arm is fatigued, she’s so strong mentally that she can just get through a game like that no problem.”

—Staff writer Colin Whelehan can be reached at whelehan@fas.harvard.edu.