Softball Takes Four of Five at Long Beach State/Fullerton Tournament

The Harvard softball team wrapped up a nearly perfect weekend in California to open spring break play. Finishing 4-1, the Crimson (7-3) won four straight against San Diego State, Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, and Longwood, before coming up short in a rematch with San Diego State.

SAN DIEGO STATE 6, HARVARD 1

Entering the final inning of play tied at 1-1, Harvard looked to defeat the Aztecs (16-9) for a second time and go undefeated in the weekend’s tournament at Anderson Family Field. Unable to do so, the Crimson’s efforts fell just shy of a clean sweep.

A grand slam gave San Diego State a 5-1 lead over Harvard in the top of the seventh. That advantage was then extended to five, as the Crimson ended up falling 6-1.

The loss marked the first for Harvard in the Louisville Slugger Invitational, as the team finished the tournament 4-1 on Sunday afternoon.

“We had a tough schedule and to come away 4-1 from the tournament having only played five games was really encouraging,” sophomore infielder Rhianna Rich said. “The teams we faced have played a lot more games than us this season, so for us to come out hard against them showed how gritty and hard-working this team is.”

HARVARD 3, LONGWOOD 2

The Crimson secured a victory over Longwood (7-14) to begin the team’s final day in California and extend its winning streak to five.

An RBI by Rich combined with a two-out, two-run home run from sophomore Erin Lockhart in the third inning gave Harvard a 3-0 lead over the Lancers.

Longwood answered with a run in the fourth and one in the sixth. A Lancer comeback was halted thanks to Duncan, whose solid performance out of the bullpen allowed the Crimson to hold on to its 3-2 lead over Longwood.

“Our pitching staff has been doing a great job of keeping us in games against good offensive teams,” Rich said. “That coupled with timely hitting has allowed us to win these games.”

HARVARD 2, LONG BEACH STATE 1

Harvard defeated Long Beach State (7-13-1) behind a strong defensive performance from pitchers Kathleen Duncan and Sarah Smith. Duncan pitched four innings, allowing just one run before being relieved by Smith to begin the fifth. The sophomore then gave up only one hit to earn her second save of the year.

“Our pitching staff and defense have kept us in these games and allowed us to come out with some big wins,” Lockhart said.

Offensively, the Crimson scored both runs in the top of the third inning. With the bases loaded, sophomore catcher Elizabeth Shively singled through the left side to put Harvard on the board. A sacrifice fly by senior Catherine Callaway scored junior Maddy Kaplan to extend the lead to two.

One run from the 49ers in the bottom of the third was only enough to cut the Crimson’s deficit in half as Harvard held on to win the contest by a run.

HARVARD 2, CAL STATE FULLERTON 1

The Crimson came away with a win against host Cal State Fullerton (10-13) in a game that saw every run scored in the first inning of play.

A two-run homer off the bat of Lockhart gave Harvard a lead that it would maintain for the next six innings. After the Titans added a run in the bottom of the first, the two teams engaged in a defensive battle to the end.

The Crimson defense remained tight behind the efforts of senior pitcher Taylor Cabe. The South Carolina native pitched through the first five innings before being relieved with one out in the sixth. Cabe allowed only five hits and one run and recorded three strikeouts to earn Harvard the 2-1 win.

HARVARD 5, SAN DIEGO STATE 4

A late rally by the Crimson was enough to give the team a win over San Diego State in the opening day of the tournament.

Scoreless through three, both teams gained offensive momentum in the second half of the game. The Aztecs went ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth before Harvard responded by loading the bases in the top of the sixth. A double by Callaway drove in two runs for the Crimson, followed by an RBI single from junior outfielder Alexa Altchek. Capitalizing on a San Diego State error, Harvard scored and extended their lead to 4-1.

The Aztecs battled back, earning two runs in the bottom of the sixth and one in the seventh. Yet an RBI groundout by Shively and close-out pitching from Duncan in the final inning allowed the Crimson to come away on top, 5-4.

“Overall, our games this weekend really were team efforts,” Lockhart said. “Everybody contributed to get the job done.”

—Contributing writer Meg Leatherwood can be reached at margaret.leatherwood@college.harvard.edu.