With High Expectations, Softball Turns to Pitchers For Success

In the sport of softball, only one thing is guaranteed every play: the pitcher will throw the ball. Every subsequent event that unfolds on the field depends on the pitcher’s actions, and for that reason, the control lies in her hands.

For the Harvard softball team (10-15, 1-3 Ivy), the responsibility of controlling the game rests on the shoulders of four players: senior right-hander Laura Ricciardone, senior left-hander Gabrielle Ruiz, junior right-hander Morgan Groom, and sophomore right-hander Taylor Cabe. Together they comprise the 2015 pitching staff, each bringing her own contributions to the circle.

“The pitcher in the circle needs to set a tone,” Harvard coach Jenny Allard said. “The pitchers have a large responsibility on the team. If they have a bad day, it ends in a loss, so they need to go out there and have a good day. If someone’s not having a good day, another pitcher needs to pick them up. We need to be able to compete in the circle.”

For the past couple of years, a familiar face in the circle for the Crimson has been Ricciardone, a Slidell, La., native who is finishing up her Harvard career as one of seven seniors on this year’s team.

Ricciardone has served as the main starter for the squad for the past two seasons. She tossed a total of just over 155 innings in 2014, and already has over 60 innings under her belt this year.

Over the course of her career, Ricciardone has accumulated an overall ERA of 2.04, averaging 4.46 strikeouts per game and and winning just under 70 percent of her starts. As one of the leaders on and off the field, Ricciardone sees the need to leave a mark on the program.

“I’ve had three seasons here and every season here, I’ve been able to pitch a lot, so I’ve enjoyed all my time here at Harvard,” Ricciardone said. “Myself and the rest of the senior class are looking to go out with an Ivy League title, just like we came into the season.”

In fact, the pitching staff this year mirrors last year’s, giving the squad the opportunity to take advantage of the same dynamic. The only difference is that each pitcher now has one more year of experience under her belt that aids her when the game is on the line.

In particular, Cabe has hit her stride during her sophomore campaign, building off a freshman year in which she threw 100 innings for the Crimson. During the 26 games in which she had control of the ball in 2014, Cabe tallied a 2.66 ERA while averaging 4.97 strikeouts per game.

This season, Cabe has once again established herself as a throwing force, already having tossed 53.2 innings in 2015.

“Taylor is showing a lot of consistency this year,” Allard said. “She is a lot stronger mentally in the circle, she has more consistency with her pitches, and she is owning her game plan more.  She has really stepped up this year. She has gotten the results and the wins that she’s wanted, but we put her up against some really tough teams, and she’s performed really well.”

This season, Groom has established herself as another starting option for Harvard, while Ruiz has been called upon most often to come in behind other pitchers. Early on, she has quickly become the workhorse in mid-week games.

But as much as pitching is centered around individual performance, this year’s staff has been focused on moving the ball around between hands in order to test different combinations of arms and find the one that fits the best. Already this year, each pitcher has seen the circle at least seven times, each accumulating at least 10 innings.

Yet the emphasis for the staff is not so much about who starts, but rather the  steps taken to best position the team to win.

“I think that the pitching from here on out will continue to be mixed,” senior infielder Katherine Lantz said. “I don’t think there has been any set lineup…but I think that all the pitchers have bought into the idea that they will all be working together to win games, so it won’t be uncommon to see two or three pitchers work together to win games.”

This past weekend’s games provided perfect examples of the mix of arms that Harvard has employed this season. The eight-inning battle against Penn Sunday afternoon that featured 29 runs between the two teams saw all four pitchers contribute, while the earlier games against the Quakers saw Ricciardone, Cabe, and Ruiz combine to finish out the game.

Friday’s series against Columbia saw Ricciardone go all seven innings in the opening match, while Cabe and Groom both threw in the Crimson’s 3-0 loss later that afternoon.

“It’s an irreplaceable feeling knowing that there are three people behind you to back you up,” Ricciardone said. “It allows you to go out there without the pressure of thinking it’s all on you. It’s a great tool to have four of us on staff with experience and who are ready to throw.”

When all the balls and strikes boil down, the ultimate goal of the team this year is to bring the Ivy League title back to Cambridge, and with the strong arms of the pitchers, combined with timely hitting and defense, that goal might be within reach this season.

—Staff writer Ariel Smolik-Valles can be reached at asmolikvalles@college.harvard.edu.