Softball Finds Swing In Second Contest Against Princeton

A comeback stopped short in the final inning of the first game fueled the Harvard softball team’s domination in its second contest of the day.

The Crimson (11-17, 4-4 Ivy) split Friday afternoon’s double-header against Princeton at Soldiers Field but outscored the Tigers (17-9, 3-1), 12-7.

“The second game we had better at bats,” Crimson coach Jenny Allard said. “The first game they were trying too hard and over-swinging. They just did a better job believing in themselves and staying with the process of hitting.”

Exemplifying Harvard’s turnaround at the plate was junior third baseman Kasey Lange, who leads the team with a .684 slugging percentage. In the first game, Lange grounded out to short with a runner on second to end the third inning and flied out to left with the bases loaded in the seventh.

But in the second game, Lange came up big with a bases-clearing double that sparked her team’s six-run fourth.

Picking up a win against the Tigers, who entered the Ivy League season with the best non-conference record and currently sit in second place in the South Division, was an opportunity for the Crimson to remain in contention.

“We know that Ivies is a dogfight this year and it’s anyone’s game,” Lange said.

HARVARD 11, PRINCETON 3

After falling behind in the first game, Harvard jumped out to an early lead with a run in the bottom of the first and scored in four of the five innings before the mercy rule was called to end the contest.

Freshman Jamie Halula pitched a complete game and improved her record to 3-4, holding Princeton scoreless for the first three innings.

In the bottom of the third, junior captain and right fielder Shelbi Olson drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on a Lange single up the middle. Sophomore shortstop Emily Gusse drove both of them in with a double up the gap that knocked out Princeton’s starting pitcher, senior Liza Kuhn. Gusse advanced to third on a wild pitch and was brought home on a groundout to short.

A leadoff double by Tigers’ senior centerfielder Lizzy Pierce sparked a two run fourth inning for Princeton. Halula struggled with her control, walking the next batter and allowing her to advance to second on a wild pitch. With no outs, senior right fielder Candy Button slapped a double to centerfield and scored two.

But the rally would not last, and Lange helped the Crimson score six in its half of the inning. After Lange’s double, four singles—including three consecutive—plated the final three runs of the inning for Harvard.

The Tigers came back with a run in the fifth, but Harvard added one of its own to activate the mercy rule.

Halula said that the loss in the first game helped the Crimson focus on adjusting and executing, as well as providing motivation.

“We kind of realized that the worst thing we could do was lose, and we already did that,” Halula said.

PRINCETON 4, HARVARD 1

Although Harvard had plenty of opportunities to score, the team couldn’t string together the hits it needed to overcome the run deficit.

Freshman Morgan Groom and her Princeton counterpart, senior Alex Peyton, both pitched three shutout innings to open the game, but the Tigers put themselves on the board in the fourth with a small ball showing that included an error by Gusse, two bunts, and a single.

After pitching a three-up-three-down fourth, Peyton doubled to open the fifth and her pinch runner added Princeton’s third run of the game.

The Crimson opened the sixth with back-to-back doubles to plate its only run of the game, but despite loading the bases on a single by sophomore second baseman Katherine Lantz and a one-out walk by Gusse, Harvard could not come up with another hit.

“We were swinging early, we were on our front feet, were pulling our heads, all the things hitters do when they’re pressing and trying too hard,” Allard said.

After sophomore Gabrielle Ruiz allowed a fourth run in the top of the seventh, the Crimson had a number of chances in its half but again could not convert. With one out and runners on first and second, Olson hit a slow, playable roller to short, but the Tigers’ freshman first baseman Kayla Bose could not keep her foot on the bag.

With the bases loaded, Lantz scorched a liner up the middle, but Peyton knocked it down and threw her out at first to end the ballgame.

—Staff writer Hope Schwartz can be reached at hschwartz@college.harvard.edu. Follow her on Twitter @hopeschwartz16.