Harvard Softball Clinches Ivy Tournament with Series Sweep Against Cornell

Coming off the back of a gritty series win against Dartmouth (17-21, 10-11 Ivy), the Crimson (26-11, 15-6 Ivy) looked to secure its place in the Ivy League tournament as it faced Cornell (16-22, 6-15 Ivy) at Soldiers Field for the last series of the regular season.

Strong performances from Harvard’s pitching staff and offensive lineup secured an early series win during Saturday’s double header, and the team continued to perform in a rainy Sunday competition to complete the sweep.

Harvard 2, Cornell 0

Continuing her fine form, sophomore pitcher Nicolette Hunter refused to let the Big Red get a foot in the door, starting the first inning with two straight strikeouts.

Despite a brief moment of confusion as Cornell sent its second hitter sprinting towards first base off what she thought was a dropped third strike, the strikeout was confirmed. Senior Priyanka Kaul soon ended the inning, fielding a hard hit ball down the third base line for the out at first base.

While the Crimson struggled to generate offense in its first at bat of the game, Cornell seemed to find its stride. Two hard hits bouncing just off the gloves of Hunter and sophomore Sophie Sun placed runners on first and third. However, Harvard limited the damage of the plays, making sure to have each other’s backs.

After a quick timeout from the Crimson, Cornell managed to get in prime scoring position with bases loaded off a well-placed bunt. Harvard locked down the infield, nearly ending the inning with an almost double play at home and first off a single straight to Kaul. However senior first baseman Maya Douglas’s heel had just barely lifted off the bag on the catch.

Ultimately, Hunter took matters into her own hands, getting the Crimson out of a jam with three straight strikes to end the inning.

After an eventful inning, both teams settled into the game, with both pitching staffs and defensive lineups preventing their opposition from gaining any offensive traction. However, Kaul got the action started again in the bottom of the fifth inning, slamming a hit right past the third baseman to left field for a single. As freshman Julia Mizo subbed in to pinch run for Kaul, her fellow freshman catcher Quinn Salazar-Stewart put down a sacrifice bunt to move Mizo into scoring position at second base. Douglas capitalized, also driving a ball past the third baseman for an RBI double to bring home Mizo for the 1-0 lead.

Cornell couldn’t respond, and one inning later junior Finley Payne carried on the momentum with a left field double to the fences. Two fly outs from Sun and Muller brought her home, further extending Harvard’s lead to 2-0.

Back on defense to end the game, Hunter was stellar yet again, closing out the game with her seventh strikeout and another complete game shutout added to her stat sheet.

Harvard 5, Cornell 1

Just a couple hours later, both teams were back out on Soldiers Field for their second game of the day. Similar to their early competition, neither team could break through as junior Riley Flynn took Hunter’s place on the mound.

While the Crimson were again in a tough spot at the end of the second inning with a Cornell runner on third, Flynn closed out the inning, fielding a drifting ball towards the mound and securing the out with an underhand throw to Douglas at first.

Harvard found its stride in the bottom of the third inning as sophomore Audrey Szollosi got things started with a first pitch bunt to get to first base. Payne followed her up with a double right over the left fielder’s glove, and a walk from Sun gave the Crimson bases loaded. Muller brought home Szollosi and Payne with a two RBI single up the middle, and a fly out from senior Savannah Fitzpatrick brought home Sun for a 3-0 lead.

While the Big Red stopped the Crimson in the fourth inning, Payne restarted the momentum with a bunt to get to first. Sun kept things going with a single to center field, and a walk from Muller yet again gave Harvard bases loaded. Fitzpatrick brought home a run with a single to left field, and junior Lael Ayala brought home Sun with a fly out to center field to extend Harvard’s lead further, to 5-0.

Although Cornell managed to steal a home run off of Flynn, she closed out the game, securing the series win for the Crimson, as well as a spot in the Ivy League tournament.

Harvard 8, Cornell 1

With Hunter back on the mound, the Crimson got points on the board early in its third game of the weekend. In the first inning of the game, Kaul hammered a single to left field to bring home Szollosi, who made it to third base following a single to center field.

Two innings later, Mizo, pinch running for Muller, stole home, and freshman Elena Weinseimer brought home Fitzpatrick off a single to center field. Szollosi kept the runs coming, bringing home Weinseimer with a left field single to end the third inning with a 4-0 lead for the Crimson.

Despite pitching and catching changes from the Big Red one inning later, Harvard kept up its offensive momentum with Muller and Fitzpatrick pulling walks to get into prime scoring position. Kaul capitalized with an RBI single to center field, and Weinseimer soon followed with a sacrifice fly to left field to extend their lead even further, 6-0.

Freshman Linden McCarl stepped onto the mound for Hunter, battling with Cornell’s first batter. While the Big Red managed to score a series of singles off of McCarl to get bases loaded, junior captain Ryan Grace subbed in to close out the inning, allowing just one run as the Crimson ended the inning with a double play.

Harvard responded at its next at bat, with Payne hammering an RBI double to left field and Muller hitting a sacrifice fly to center field to bring the score to 8-1. While two walks from Cornell threatened the start of a rally at the top of the seventh inning, Grace closed out the game with confidence, striking out three Big Red batters in a row to secure the series sweep.

Ending the regular season on a six game win streak, the Crimson head into the Ivy League tournament with momentum as they hope to do what it couldn’t last year, and return from Princeton with the first place trophy. With Harvard’s pitching staff looking in fine form, particularly Hunter, who was awarded Ivy League Pitcher of the Week for her eleven shutout innings, and its offense finding hits when it matters, the Crimson appear ready to perform in postseason play.

The team faces stiff competition, playing against third placed Columbia (23-16, 15-6 Ivy) who matches the Crimson in conference record, but is ranked lower due to the Crimson's head-to-head victory earlier this season.

Coming off the back of a tight series sweep over Dartmouth, and having recently handed first placed Princeton (26-16, 17-4 Ivy) its only series loss of their season, Harvard will have its work cut out as it hopes to send the Lions to the loser's bracket in its first round of tournament play on Thursday, May 8, 2025.

– Staff Writer Sofia Zhang can be reached at sofia.zhang@thecrimson.com.