Softball Sweeps Penn To Capture Ivy League Title

The Harvard softball team cruised to a doubleheader sweep of Penn on Saturday at Soldiers Field in the first annual Ivy Championship Series, clinching a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Behind a no-hitter by junior Shelly Madick, the Crimson (31-13) dashed off a 4-0 win in game one and then pulled out a 4-2 victory in game two, with Madick coming on for the save.

Madick moved to 16-4 on the season with a complete-game no-no in the opener. She faced just one batter over the minimum, walking one and striking out seven. Harvard gave her a cushion with a three-run third. Freshman Melissa Schellberg stroked a two-run single to center and Jennifer Francis contributed a sacrifice fly. Senior Susie Winkeller added an RBI single in the fifth.

Senior Lauren Brown broke a 2-2 tie in the nightcap with a two-run homer. Francis had provided the Crimson with an early lead on a two-run double lead, but starter Amanda Watkins gave the runs back in the third. Freshman Dana Roberts provided 2 1/3 innings of shutout relief before giving way to Madick, who followed up her early gem with 2 1/3 more scoreless frames to seal the win.

Harvard locked up its fourth ever Ivy League crown and its first since 2001.