Doubleheader Means Double Trouble For Harvard

The Harvard softball team (15-18, 6-2 Ivy) battled hard but ended up dropping both games of a doubleheader to local rival Boston College (12-22, 0-10 ACC) yesterday, losing the first game, 5-4, and the second, 6-4, after a late rally in the bottom of the seventh fell short.

“We came out strong,” captain Margaux Black said of the failed comeback attempt. “We had some great at bats, did a lot of good things, we just had a little bit of a tough day today. A game like this is humbling, and reminds us that you have to battle each and every game.”

BOSTON COLLEGE 6, HARVARD 4

The Eagles came out swinging in the late afternoon, scoring two runs in the first inning on costly errors by the Crimson.

The opening blow was set up when an error by Harvard rookie second baseman Kassy Shiotani allowed a runner on second to take third and the batter to reach first.

An errant throw on the next play allowed the runner on third to score, while advancing the runner on first—who then scored on a double, putting Boston College up 2-0.

Harvard was unable to respond until the bottom of the second, when sophomore Whitney Shaw reached second off an error by the Eagles centerfielder.

Senior Jennifer Francis whacked a double, which advanced Shaw to third. Senior Jessica Pledger kept the scoring chances alive with a single to load the bases, and an error by the BC third baseman sent Shaw home.

Junior Emily Henderson came up to the plate and reached base on a fielder’s choice, allowing Francis to score and tying things up at two runs apiece going into the third.

“Second game, I thought we came out a lot better,” Shaw said. “First off, we scored and responded to their runs. We came back and kept scoring on them, kept the pressure on.”

But Boston College responded, capitalizing on a triple, followed by a single to pull away again in the top of the third.

The run marked the first of four unanswered runs for the Eagles, a spurt lasting through the top of the fourth inning.

Harvard responded by taking advantage of a shortstop error to send Henderson to second, and a single to left field by junior Ellen Macadam sent Henderson home, pulling the Crimson within three runs of the Eagles heading into the fifth.

Sophomore Mari Zumbro relieved classmate Julia Moore in the top of the fifth, and she allowed only two hits and no runs for the rest of the game.

“Mari came in and hasn’t thrown a lot of innings for us and did a great job,” Harvard coach Jenny Allard said.

After scoring three runs in the first four innings, the Crimson bats went silent, not scoring until the bottom of the seventh inning.

“I think we did well coming out and coming out strong, but we didn’t keep that throughout seven innings,” Shaw said. “We did lull there in the middle, but in the end we definitely picked it up. We had a good rally in the last few innings, which made up for a quiet middle.”

Shaw hit an RBI double to left field, sending senior Stephanie Krysiak home. But it was too little, too late, as Francis lined out to center field, ending the game.

BOSTON COLLEGE 5, HARVARD 4

Both teams were held scoreless through the top of the fifth inning in the opening game, as Harvard’s sophomore hurler Rachel Brown extended her innings-without-an-earned-run streak to 31-straight.

The scoring drought ended during the bottom half of the inning when Shaw smacked a three-run home run well over the center-field fence.

Freshman Jess Ferri next came to the plate and blasted a homer of her own, putting the Crimson ahead, 4-0, going into the sixth inning.

Black served as relief pitcher going into the sixth, and the veteran struggled to get into a rhythm at the start, allowing three hits and five runs—giving Boston College the lead for good.

“We got an awesome start,” Black said. “Two home runs—huge—we had some great at-bats. Unfortunately, I came in the game and struggled a little bit mentally, and ended up letting them score and get ahead of us. We had a couple of mental errors—we just got a little bit in our own way that game, which is unfortunate. I hate that we lost that game, because we did some really good things.”