Loyola Tournament Brings Ups and Downs

The Harvard softball team continued its spring break road trip Tuesday, splitting its two games at the Marina International Hotel Showcase in Los Angeles.

The Crimson was a strike away from winning its first game against Wisconsin, when the opposition made a stunning four-run comeback to win, 5-2. Harvard came back fired up in their second game and defeated Loyola Marymount, 4-1.

Co-captain Ellen Macadam continued to be a driving force, extending her hitting streak to 10 games. She currently leads the Ivy League in hits and total bases and is second in runs scored, home runs, and slugging percentage.

"Ellen has just been a stud," junior pitcher Rachel Brown said. "We look to her to get rallies going, and we all have so much confidence in her at the plate. She's had an incredible start to the season, and it's really exciting to watch her play."

HARVARD 4, LOYOLA 1

In its second game of the day, Harvard (7-4) was pitted against the tournament hosts, Loyola Marymount (7-13).

Despite taking an early 1-0 lead in the second inning, the Lions were unable to fend off the Crimson, which came back in the next inning to score three runs and grab the lead.

Senior Emily Henderson started things off with a walk and was followed by Macadam, who reached first due to a throwing error. Harvard's first run of the game came shortly after, when sophomore Ashley Heritage doubled down the left field line to bring in Henderson.

A few batters later, freshman Kasey Lange's sacrifice fly brought home Macadam, and sophomore Stephanie Regan knocked in Heritage with a single.

In the fourth inning, junior Mari Zumbro slammed in a solo home run-her first of the season-to bring the Crimson's lead to three runs. Harvard held onto its advantage throughout the last three innings and ultimately won the game, 4-1.

This victory marked the first collegiate win for freshman pitcher Laura Ricciardone, who struck out five batters and allowed for only one run on seven hits.

"Laura pitched a great game, especially after giving up that home run in the beginning," junior Whitney Shaw said. "She showed great composure and was really able to shut them down after that. She just took the game pitch by pitch and totally had their number. She was a huge factor in our win."

WISCONSIN 5, HARVARD 2

The Crimson held a 2-1 lead for most of its first game against Wisconsin (9-7), but the squad ultimately suffered a heartbreaking loss when the Badgers—down to their last strike—scored four runs in the seventh inning.

The game began quietly, with no scoring until the third inning, when a Wisconsin batter singled and then came home on a Harvard error.

But the visitors made an exciting comeback in the next inning with consecutive solo home runs by Shaw and Lange.

The Crimson held onto its 2-1 lead for nearly the remainder of the contest and was one strike away from victory, when the Badger's Stephanie Peace smashed a three-run home run to give Wisconsin a 4-2 lead. An insurance run then brought home Badger Jennifer Kruger, and Harvard, unable to score in the bottom of the seventh, lost, 5-2.

It was the first loss of the year for Brown who, before yesterday, had pitched the Crimson to all six of its victories.

"Rachel was outstanding for us," Macadam said. "Wisconsin just really stole the game from us in the end. But it was a really good game, a tough battle. We stuck with them and had them for a long time, but they just stole it back from us in the bottom of the seventh with two outs, two strikes. It was a tough loss."

The Crimson has a chance to redeem itself this Thursday when it faces off against Wisconsin in its first game at the San Diego Classic II.

"We're so excited we get to play Wisconsin again," Macadam said. "We had them beat for the majority of the game, and now we know we can play with them absolutely. We know what we're up against, and we know we can beat them."