Softball Takes Two of Three in Tourney

Although inclement weather forced two cancellations, the Harvard softball team (10-4) went 2-1 in the San Diego State University Tournament, taking down the host, San Diego State, and Long Beach State.

The tournament, which was played on Thursday and Friday, came on the heels of the Northridge Classic, where the Crimson went 5-0. Harvard’s only loss in the SDSU Tournament came against the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, which defeated the Crimson in a decisive 7-2 match.

Rain on Saturday prevented Harvard from competing in its final two games, slated to be against California State University-Bakersfield and the University of San Diego.

HARVARD 3, LONG BEACH STATE 0

After suffering its first loss in two weeks, Harvard turned its ship around quickly by registering a shutout win over Long Beach State on Friday afternoon.

Co-captain Rachel Brown helped the Crimson get back to its winning ways by pitching a complete game shutout, surrendering only four hits.

“It’s really important that we bounced back so quickly,” Brown said. “It takes a lot of focus and a lot of regrouping for the team to get in a different mindset and really flush the first game out of our minds and get ready for the next game. We had good energy despite this being something like the 10th game of the week.”

On offense, junior centerfielder Stephanie Regan contributed two runs in the victorious effort, driving one in on a double and also scoring herself after another double. The back-to-back doubles came after going hitless in her first two at-bats and 0-for-1 in the first game of the day.

UNLV 7, HARVARD 2

The Crimson’s seven-game winning streak came to an end early on Friday against UNLV (14-12) as it fell to the Running Rebels, 7-2.

After two innings of scoreless action, UNLV jumped out to a 5-0 lead on four third-inning hits before Harvard sophomore pitcher Laura Ricciardone was pulled for the day.

Following two more Rebel runs, a home run by sophomore Kasey Lange narrowed the gap to 7-2, but the Crimson was unable to get any closer. Lange and senior Jane Alexander were the only two Harvard batters to record hits in the contest, though they combined for a total of five.

“Our bats didn’t wake up [Friday] morning as well as they had been, and their pitcher was on,” Regan said. “Other than that, UNLV just was hot bats.”

The loss was the Crimson’s first since March 4.

“We kind of hit a lull,” Brown said. “Maybe we just expected the win and expected things to go our way.”

HARVARD 9, SAN DIEGO STATE 3

On Thursday, Harvard came out swinging in its game against the hosts, posting its second-highest offensive output of the season, with seven different players recording hits. The win, following a sweep at the Northridge Classic, was the Crimson’s seventh in a row.

The game got off to a rocky start for Harvard. Aztec first baseman Justeen Maeva hit a solo home run in the first inning to give her team an early lift—only the second time this season that an opponent has been the first to score against the Crimson.

Harvard was not able to answer until the third inning, but it responded in a big way.

In the top of the frame, the Crimson loaded the bases, and Lange—Harvard’s RBI leader—brought Regan, sophomore Shelbi Olson, and junior Ashley Heritage home on a bomb to center field. Lange was able to score on the play thanks to a cutoff error by San Diego State. Freshman Camilla Gibson was the fifth Crimson player to score in the third inning after she was driven in on a single by classmate Katherine Lantz.

Harvard struck again in the fourth inning, when Regan doubled to left field and was brought in by an RBI single from Alexander.

Thanks to Brown’s pitching performance, the Aztecs did not score again until the sixth inning, when they recorded a pair of unearned runs off two Crimson errors. Despite the blip, Harvard was able to hold off the comeback effort from San Diego, prevailing 6-3.

“San Diego State is a powerhouse that we’ve always struggled against,” Regan said. “We’ve played them every year and had always been just short, but this year our offense came on first. That was big for us to win and get some momentum going into the season.”

—Staff writer Jacob D. H. Feldman can be reached at jacobfeldman@college.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer B. Marjorie Gullick can be reached at gullick@college.harvard.edu.