Softball Juggles Pitching Rotation

Seeing your starting spot disappear is tough. It’s even tougher when you had dominated the year before.

Last season, then-freshman pitcher Morgan Groom started 19 games, posted the third-best ERA in the Ivy League at 2.58, and finished in the league’s top five with 96 strikeouts. Despite those electric numbers, Groom has gone from the number one option in the circle to the third for the Harvard softball team.

“Groom brings great experience to the staff,” junior pitcher Laura Ricciardone said. “She handled the bulk of the work last year and has returned with even more experience and talent.”

After being named to the All-Ivy second team, Groom has only started five games for the Crimson this year. Groom has pitched more relief innings and has had fewer starts, but her reduced role isn’t the result of poor performance.

Instead, the return of Ricciardone and the addition of freshman Taylor Cabe have led to a new one-two punch for Harvard coach Jenny Allard.

“Laura is in tremendous shape,” Allard said. “She really has returned in the best shape of her career. Her stamina is terrific.”

Two years ago, Harvard won its second consecutive Ivy League championship and two NCAA tournament games. But that’s all a distant memory now.

As Ancient Eight play commences, the quartet of Ricciardone, Cabe, Groom, and junior Gabrielle Ruiz will be tasked with the lofty expectations of returning Harvard to the top of the league and clinching a spot in postseason play.

After spending last season training at home, Ricciardone has returned to carry the pitching load for Harvard. Though she was not with her team last year, Ricciardone still followed the team’s lifting schedule and trained individually.

With a record of 5-5, Ricciardone has an ERA of 2.42 and has already fanned 39 batters in 73.2 innings. She currently has the third-most strikeouts, second-most wins, and eighth-best ERA in the Ivy League.

The junior hurler, who was second-team All-Ivy her sophomore year, showed some of her old tricks on Opening Day this year. She pitched a complete game shutout, allowing only three hits and racking up eight strikeouts to beat Eastern Michigan.

“We are expecting [Ricciardone] to pick up where she left off end of her sophomore year, and she’s done that,” Allard said.

Ricciardone struggled against Florida Gulf Coast, conceding three earned runs and picking up her first loss of the season. But a week later, Ricciardone reminded her teammates of just how assertive she can be in the circle.

Facing No. 22 Louisiana State on its home turf, Ricciardone shut out the Tigers. The junior was ruthless, pitching a 12-inning complete game, striking out nine batters and only allowing seven hits.

“It’s great to have Laura back,” Groom said. “She was really strong her first two years and has brought a lot of experience to our staff.”

While Ricciardone has shined in her return, the freshman Cabe has far from disappeared in the upperclassman’s shadow. Instead, the first-year pitcher has worked her way into the starting rotation to become Harvard’s No. 2 pitcher.

“Cabe has great command of all her pitches,” Allard said. “She is a work horse and a diligent pitcher. We are excited to have her on the staff.”

Though she has struggled early on, posting a 3-6 record, Cabe has remains at a steady 2.44 ERA, good for eighth in the Ancient Eight. Though she struggled in early outings against North Dakota and Arkansas, the Boiling Springs, S.C. native has become much more consistent as the year has progressed, showing why she was so sought after as a recruit.

“Taylor got on our radar screen when she came up to a winter camp,” Allard said. “She was being heavily recruited by other schools as well, but she felt like the balance academically and athletically was right for her here, and we lucked out.”

The fourth pitcher on the staff, Ruiz, primarily pitches in relief. Ruiz is a lefty and has progressed consistently since her freshman season and has become a key asset in securing wins for the Crimson.

“Ruiz has really owned her role as a relief pitcher,” Ricciardone said. “She comes in under extreme pressure situations at the end of the game and is lights out. “

With Ricciardone and Cabe taking over the majority of the innings, Groom and Ruiz round out what could be the best pitching staff in the Ancient Eight this year. And alhough the latter pair pitch far fewer innings than Ricciardone and Cabe, that hasn’t stopped Groom and Ruiz from competing at a high level. In fact, Groom boasts a team-low 2.13 ERA, and Ruiz has given up only eight hits and three runs in the 8.2 innings she has pitched.

“It truly is the four of us—we are a short pitching staff, but it’s a blessing to be a part of,” Ricciardone said. “We really support one another and we work very well together with our pitching styles.”

With each pitcher throwing at a high level, practices have brought out a healthy competition between the four, according to Allard. While each pitcher wants her shot to lead the staff, team success has taken a front seat.

“It’s been helpful to have more competition among the team,” Allard said.

After a rough trip to California, the Crimson was 2-7 with only two games remaining before Ivy play. But rather than roll over, the pitching staff used these early season losses as a stepping stone in learning to be more assertive.

In the final two games of the trip, Ricciardone and Cabe pitched all 14 innings, allowing three earned runs and picking up a pair of victories. Though the wins do not contribute to conference standings, they were pivotal in restoring the confidence of a team that found itself lacking exactly that.

“After [the California trip], Coach wanted us to get a killer instinct,” Groom said. “Even though we had a tough time...we are in a good spot for Ivies.”

—Staff writer Andrew Farber can be reached at andrewfarber@college.harvard.edu.