Harvard Softball Bounces Back to Win Brown Series

Despite struggling to round the bases and falling to the Bears 4-0 in its first matchup of the weekend, the Harvard softball team quickly found its form in the remainder of the series. The Crimson immediately got its bats active, logging two runs in the opening inning of game two to take home a 5-1 win. Harvard continued to build across the weekend, starting strong again in the third game to secure a 10-2 victory and take home a series win.

Harvard 0, Brown 4

Junior captain Audrey Szollosi led off the game with a bunt to make it onto base. Freshman left fielder Sheila Forbes followed with a bunt single, and a walk from sophomore first baseman Alexa Muller set up the Crimson (16-15-1, 8-4 Ivy) with the bases loaded. Despite Harvard’s prime scoring position, Brown (11-19, 4-8) managed to get out of the pinch with a fly ball to center field and escaped the inning unscathed, stranding all three runners on base.

Defensively, the Crimson started the bottom of the first inning with momentum as freshman third baseman Hannah Ziecik got two easy outs to shut down the Bears. However, a home run off junior pitcher Nicolette Hunter enabled Brown to shift the energy and string together a run of singles to bring another runner home, and take a 2-0 lead.

Ziecik nearly scored in the second inning, driving a single up the middle before making it to third off a bunt from Szollosi and a throwing error from the Bears’ catcher. However, Brown again managed to stifle Harvard’s attack, ending the inning with a strikeout.

While the Crimson struggled to generate offense, the Bears chipped away at Harvard’s defense, capitalizing on singles and throwing errors to score two more runs through the second and third innings. After the third inning, the game was defined by stellar pitching as neither team could make it around the bases to score. Managing to hold off the Crimson, Brown eventually secured the first win of the series, 4-0.

Harvard 5, Brown 1

With a point to prove going into the second game, the Crimson came out swinging as Szollosi made it to first with a single before stealing her way to second. A single from Muller moved Szollosi to third, and a hit from junior shortstop Sophie Sun brought her home.

Harvard didn’t stop there as Sun and Muller capitalized on a wild pitch to make their way to second and third, respectively, allowing senior second baseman Finley Payne to send Muller home for a 2-0 lead.

Despite losing a nine-pitch battle on the mound to open the bottom of the first inning with a walk, captain Riley Flynn didn’t relent. Strong pitching by the captain, accompanied by faultless defense, helped the Crimson shut down Brown’s offense and maintain its lead.

Smart base running from Forbes enabled the freshman to convert a lead-off walk into a run off a single from Muller in the third. With the wind at its back, Harvard struck again at the top of the fourth. A missed throw allowed junior captain Megan Davies to make it on base, where a wild pitch and a single from Forbes brought her to third. From there, Muller sent Forbes home with a sacrifice fly to left field, extending the Crimson’s lead to 4-0.

While the Bears managed to steal a run off Flynn with two hits by pitches and a single, a series of four walks through the seventh inning restored Harvard’s four-run lead. Flynn swiftly ended Brown’s chance at a rally with three quicks, nabbing the Crimson’s first win of the series.

Harvard 10, Brown 2

Despite coming into the third game of the series with momentum, Brown looked to have the edge as it opened the game with two strikeouts on Szollosi and Forbes. A double and a wild pitch off freshman pitcher Serena Gillen placed the Bears in a prime position to score. However, Gillen stepped up with two strikeouts to keep the score even at zero.

Having escaped the tight bind, Payne quickly got Harvard’s offense moving with a two-run homer to right field for an early 2-0 lead. Nevertheless, the Bears did not back down, responding with a two-run homer of their own to tie up the game.

The Crimson answered in turn, as a run of four singles from Forbes, Sun, Ziecik, and sophomore catcher Quinn Salazar-Stewart brought home a run. Seemingly holding the hot bat of the game, Payne drove a double to left center field for an RBI triple, extending Harvard’s lead by three. The Crimson continued to work around the bases, running through the entire lineup and bringing home two more runs to make the score 8-2.

Harvard was untouchable through the following innings, with Flynn leading from the mound and stifling Brown’s offense. Although the Bears also did well to limit the Crimson’s scoring chances, Harvard struck again to close out the game. Another run of three singles put the Crimson in prime position to tally two more runs off a sacrifice fly from Davies and a single from Szollosi, securing the 10-2 win.

As Harvard continues to improve, it has worked its way up the Ivy League standings, now sitting in second place behind only undefeated Princeton. The team has shone on both sides of the field, with Szollosi joining Sun and Payne in the record books by logging her 100th career hit while Flynn posted a 0.57 ERA and six strikeouts across 12.1 innings.

After two weeks on the road, The Crimson will return home for a busy week of play. The team will first take on Boston University on Tuesday for its ROTC Appreciation Day before hosting Penn for a three-game series over the weekend.

—Staff writer Sofia Zhang can be reached at [email protected].