Softball Puts it Together to Top Yale Twice

The Harvard softball team (16-17, 8-4) has struggled to find consistency throughout the season, splitting many doubleheaders. This Saturday, however, it all came together in dominating Yale (8-26, 3-9) in consecutive games, defeating it, 7-4, in the first game and 4-2 in the second.

“We’re a team that’s capable of big plays, [and we] definitely made some,” Harvard coach Jenny Allard said. “On the whole we played a better game.”

The wins kept Harvard in a tie with Dartmouth for the lead in the North Division of the Ivy League.

HARVARD 4, YALE 2

The Crimson clicked on all cylinders during the second game of the doubleheader, en route to a comfortable 4-2 win.

The bats got the Crimson started quickly. Harvard strung together two singles and a walk in the bottom of the first to gain a one-run lead. After a 1-2-3 inning in the second, the Crimson broke the game open in the fourth, scoring three runs on three hits and a walk. Sophomore Emily Gusse capped the inning off with a two-run single up the middle.

The Crimson offense only put one more runner on base the rest of the game, but it did not matter as it had already done enough.

Freshman Morgan Groom took the mound in the first and never looked back, finishing the game giving up just two runs. She shut out the Bulldogs until the sixth inning when Yale sophomore Sarah Onorato pulled a ball down the left field line.

However, the Bulldogs could not muster any more runs against Groom, who dropped her ERA to 2.53 on the season—good for fifth in the Ivies—and earned her fifth win.

After struggling in an outing against Cornell last Saturday, Groom bounced back, regaining her rhythm. Groom has been a workhorse for the Crimson this season, leading the team with 81.2 innings pitched. This was her sixth complete game of the season.

Sophomore Katherine Lantz had two hits and an RBI in her fifth multi-hit game of the season. Junior Kasey Lange, who leads the team in RBI, was able to contribute in a different way, reaching base twice on two walks and scoring each time.

“We’ve just come together as a team,” Gusse said. “We’ve picked up from our mistakes and learned from them.”

HARVARD 7, YALE 4

In the first game of the doubleheader, the Crimson bats were out early, jumping out to a four-run lead by the third inning. Freshman Haley Davis had a two-run double in the top of the third inning to put the Crimson up three runs, scoring on an error later that inning.

However, the Bulldogs were able to come back and score four runs in the top of the fifth on a series of errors to tie the game up, as the screws appeared to be coming loose for Harvard. After hitting a single, and drawing a walk to load the bases, the Bulldogs capitalized, scoring four runs, two of which came on errors by Crimson catcher Katherine Appelbe.

Harvard steadied however, scoring three runs on three hits in the sixth to put the game out of reach.

On the day, Lange led the charge with two doubles, driving in one run and scoring two others. She leads the team with 31 runs batted in this season. In total, six Crimson bats drove runners home.

Throughout the game, Harvard relied on small ball to get its runners in scoring position. Junior captain Shelbi Olson stole two bases to get into scoring position after leading off innings by getting on base. In the bottom of the sixth, the Crimson also successfully sacrifice-bunted, allowing Lange to advance to third base and later score.

The pitching combination of Halula and sophomore Gabrielle Ruiz held strong. Halula started well, shutting out Yale through four. After she struggled in the fifth inning, Ruiz came in to earn the win, allowing only one Bulldog on base for the final two innings.

“It was great for Gabi and Jamie to combine, that was gutsy for them,” Allard said. “They’re a true pitching staff.”

—Staff writer Jacob W. Lynch can be reached at jacoblynch@college.harvard.edu.