Softball Splits Pair of Games on Senior Day

A day of rain gave the Harvard softball team (16-19, 7-3 Ivy) some respite on Saturday, but not even a little drizzle could have stopped Senior Day from taking place yesterday.

The team hosted division rival Brown (15-16, 3-7) at Soldiers Field and honored its six seniors—co-captains Melissa Schellberg and Margaux Black, Jennifer Francis, Stephanie Krysiak, Jessica Pledger, and Dana Roberts—before the doubleheader.

“I think this class is a very special class,” Harvard coach Jenny Allard said. “They have done a lot for every single team during their four years and especially this one. Just serving the program, in general, I think they’ve left the program better than they found it.”

The Crimson failed to flex its offensive muscle during the first game against the Bears, dropping a 1-0 pitcher’s duel to the division’s bottom-dweller, but finally got it going in the second game.

Harvard scored first in the second inning before Brown tied it up in the third. The score remained even until the Crimson bats came alive in the bottom of the sixth, when freshman Jessica Ferri’s three-RBI double gave Harvard a 4-1 victory.

HARVARD 4, BROWN 1

The Crimson fell flat in the first game, so the squad knew it had to come up with a response for the loss, especially with the excitement of Senior Day on the line.

Harvard started the game inconspicuously, with all three batters being retired on groundouts in the first. But the offense finally kicked into gear in the second, when sophomore Whitney Shaw—who was coming off a home run on Thursday—singled to left field. Shaw was replaced by freshman pinch runner Kassy Shiotani, who swiped second and advanced to third on Francis’ groundout.

Ferri was hit by a pitch and stole second base to put more pressure on Brown pitcher Liz DiMascio.

DiMascio walked Pledger, loading the bases with one out. Shiotani came home on a passed ball, which moved Ferri and Pledger to second and third, but DiMascio got sophomore Jane Alexander to ground into a double play to escape the jam.

The Bears responded in their next at-bat. In the top of the third, with two runners on base, Brown’s Amanda Asay singled up the middle, bringing teammate Stephanie Thompson in for the score.

The game was quiet until the bottom of the sixth, when Krysiak sparked the offense with a single to the shortstop. Schellberg followed up with a walk, and a wild pitch allowed both runners to advance.

Krysiak attempted to steal home but was tagged out, leaving Schellberg—who is also a Crimson sports editor—alone at second base.

Shaw and Francis, who were both walked on 3-1 counts, loaded the bases, giving Ferri an opportunity to break the deadlock. The rookie’s double cleared the bases, giving Harvard a 4-1 lead that would prove insurmountable.

Black came on for her fourth inning of one-hit relief, but it was her defense that put away the game. A groundout to Schellberg at third and a hard catch by Shaw at first ended the day for the Crimson.

“Without my defense behind me, I wouldn’t be doing as well as I’m doing now,” Black said. “Because I’m a ground-ball pitcher, I get a lot of balls hit on the ground, so my defense is making incredible plays behind me.”

BROWN 1, HARVARD 0

Harvard sophomore Rachel Brown and the Bears’ Kristie Chin—two of the top pitchers in the Ivy League—made sure the first game was a quiet one at the plate. Neither team recorded a hit until the fourth inning, when Brown’s Thompson got to first on a single.

“We failed at adjusting to the first pitcher, adjusting to her speed,” Allard said. “We didn’t get a runner on third base the whole game. Two hits. It wasn’t like she was overpowering, but she just was offspeed, and she would spin the ball. She was very effective and did a very good job against us.”

By the time the seventh inning came around, the Bears had four hits, while the Crimson could only come up with two. None of that mattered, since Brown finally strung some hits together to score the only run of the game.

Asay’s single, a steal by pinch runner Danielle Comissiong, and another single, this time from Sandra Mastrangelo, were enough to bring Comissiong around the bases.

Harvard couldn’t respond in the bottom of the inning, causing the team to lose its third straight.

—Staff writer Brian A. Campos can be reached at bcampos@fas.harvard.edu.