Softball Splits Opening Weekend Doubleheader

After the first doubleheader of the weekend was postponed due to rain, Harvard’s softball team headed to Dartmouth to play a crucial doubleheader on Sunday. The Crimson split the games, winning the first game 2-0 in the eighth inning and losing the second on a walk-off solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning.

The Crimson will make up Saturday’s games at home tomorrow.

DARTMOUTH 2, HARVARD 1

The Crimson jumped out to an early lead against Dartmouth, but were unable to hold on in the second game of the doubleheader.

Junior infielder Emily Gusse doubled to left field in the top of the second inning, driving home junior Adrienne Hume for the first run of the game.

The duo of junior Laura Ricciardone and sophomore Morgan Groom were able to hold the Big Green from scoring for the first five innings. In the sixth, however, an error by co-captain Shelbi Olson allowed a runner to advance to second and eventually score on a Big Green single.

The Crimson was unable to plate a runner in the top of the seventh, giving the ball back to Ricciardone with the game still tied. Kelsey Miller, the first batter she face in the bottom of the seventh, belted a solo shot to give Dartmouth the walk-off victory.

HARVARD 2, DARTMOUTH 0

In the first game of the doubleheader, Ricciardone shut down Dartmouth for eight innings, giving the Crimson enough time to finally get on the board in extras.

The story of the game was the pitching, with the Ricciardone and the Big Green’s Kristen Rumley only allowing nine base runners in the first seven innings. The two also combined for 13 strikeouts.

In the top of the eighth however, junior Katherine Lantz broke the tie with a double to right that plated one Crimson runner. A wild pitch the next at bat let another runner score giving Harvard a two-run lead.

Ricciardone took it from there, giving up a single in the bottom of the eighth, but striking out the next two batters and getting a ground out to earn her 18th win of the season.