Softball Readies for Big Red Rematch

The last time the Harvard softball team played against Cornell was in the 2010 Ivy League Championship Series. After forcing a third game, the Crimson fell to the Big Red, 3-2, as Cornell took home the Ancient Eight title.

Now Harvard (18-10, 4-0 Ivy) has its shot at retribution, as is it set to play the Big Red (14-12-1, 3-1 Ivy) in its Ivy League home opener this coming weekend.

But before the Crimson can prove itself in tomorrow’s doubleheader against Cornell, it has to face Princeton (10-14, 2-2 Ivy) in a two-game series on Friday.

And after splitting with both Brown and Yale last weekend, the Tigers are eager for a chance to redeem themselves as well.

“It’s definitely going be a huge weekend for us,” co-captain Ellen Macadam said. “Every Ivy game is important, but Princeton and Cornell are always ones that we especially look forward to.”

“We obviously have some unfinished business with Cornell to take care of, so we’re very excited to play them.,” Macadam added. “Princeton is always a very formidable opponent too, so they will be very, very competitive games. We’re going to need to bring our A–game, but we definitely expect to take it to these teams and come out on top.”

Since its loss in the Championship Series against Cornell, the Crimson has gained quite a few talented freshmen, including third baseman Kasey Lange and pitcher Laura Ricciardone, who have just been named Ivy League Rookie and Pitcher of the Week, respectively.

Lange—who leads the league with 28 RBI and 11 doubles—plated six runs in Harvard’s last two games, including a grand slam against Columbia on Sunday.

While Lange has been a dominant piece of the offense, Ricciardone has been a driving force on the mound, with 48 strikeouts and a 1.91 ERA, the third lowest in the Ivy League.

“All our freshmen have been playing big roles on the team, which is awesome,” said junior first baseman Whitney Shaw. “It’s great to have players who are fresh, especially when the other Ivy League teams haven’t seen them yet, because it really keeps them on their toes.”

But the real story behind Saturday’s doubleheader isn’t the talent of the Class of 2014.

It’s the pitching duel that is going to take place between Crimson junior Rachel Brown and Big Red senior Elizabeth Dalrymple, arguably the two best pitchers in the Ancient Eight.

“It’s definitely always quite the battle seeing them against each other,” Macadam said. “Dalrymple obviously has been very effective in her career, but we have seen her enough to know how to beat her. We’re definitely ready to support Rachel on our end and finally get this girl and beat her.”

Dalrymple—who is a two-time Ivy League Pitcher of the Year—currently holds a 0.77 ERA, the lowest in the league, and has amassed 102 strikeouts to go along with her 8-3 record so far this year.

Brown is currently second in the league with a 1.69 ERA, but leads in strikeouts with a whopping 178. She posts a 12-4 record and has played a large role in the majority of Harvard’s victories so far this season.

Add Ricciardone to the mix, and the Crimson has the best one-two force in the Ivy League.

“I am definitely getting pumped up for the game,” Brown said. “Elizabeth Dalrymple is a phenomenal pitcher and I’m excited for our team to face her. We’ve been practicing in preparation for this, and I think it’s going to be a matter of which team gets the offense going first. I’d like to think that we have the favor in that.”

The Harvard offense has certainly stepped up this past week, scoring 45 runs in the team’s last six games. All of these contests ended in a Crimson victory, including three games cut short due to mercy rule.

Macadam leads the league with 27 runs scored and 41 hits. She is second in the Ancient Eight in four other statistical categories.

“I feel like in the past we have let [Dalrymple] intimidate us a little bit, just by her reputation,” Macadam said. “But we’ve seen what she has and we know exactly what she throws so we’re completely ready to face her. Nothing that she has will surprise us anymore. We know what to expect and how to hit her now.”

Not only will this tomorrow’s doubleheader be a rematch of last year’s final, but it could also be a preview of the 2011 Ivy League Championship Series. This possibility makes this weekend’s series all the more important.

“In getting the team ready for this weekend I ran across a quote, ‘It’s not enough to beat a team, you have to make a large enough impact that they never want to see you again,’” Brown said. “We really want to come out [with] all guns firing and show these two teams that we are serious. If it comes down to the Championship Series, we want them to be afraid to come play us again.”