It had to end sometime, but certainly this was a bit Marsh.

The Harvard softball team's seven-game winning streak--the longest in the squad's four-year history--came to an end Saturday afternoon in Amherst. When the batwomen dropped both games of a doubleheader against UMass, 9-1 and 5-0.

The Crimson could only manage one hit the entire afternoon--a single by freshman Lisa Rowning in the seventh inning of the first game. Righthanded Minuteman hurler Cathy Reed picked up a no-hitter as she blanked the Harvard batwomen in the second game.

"We're all here at Harvard for a learning experience, and that's what we got up at Amherst," Crimson Coach John Wentzell said. "It'll give us a lot of experience for next week's Ivy Tournament at Brown, but I'm glad we don't have a steady diet of UMasses. Once a year is enough."

Captain Landya Boyer came away with similar impressions. "It was definitely a learning experience. I'm certainly glad we saw a pitcher such as [Lynn] Stockley. She was really throwing bullets at us."

Stockley, an All-American last year, mystified the batwomen with her astonishing speed and control in the first game. She sent the Crimson down one-two-three in each of the first three innings of the contest.

The Minutemen, however, busted out for five hits and capitalized on three Crimson errors in the first inning to go ahead, 5-0.

Harvard scored its only run of the afternoon in the fourth inning when Nancy Andrea, who reached on a walk, was sacrificed over to second, stole third and scored on a wild pitch by Stockley.

UMass answered in the bottom of the fourth with another run after first baseman Sally Maher drove in Christina Coffin with a single.

The Minutemen added their remaining three in the bottom of the sixth, and the Harvard squad, coming up in the last chance seventh, got only the single from Rowning in the way of offense.

The second game was no more fun for the batwomen. The only time Harvard runners reached base in the contest was the first inning. When Andrea was hit by a Reed pitch, and in the third, when Boyer suffered the same fate, taking the ball on her left elbow. She had to leave the game later in the afternoon because of the painful injury.

UMass picked up two runs in the first against freshman hurler Janet Dickerman, who suffered her first loss in a Harvard uniform. Taking advantage of two Harvard errors and four hits--including two doubles--the Minutemen added three more in the fourth.

Harvard was never able to get going in the game--fighting snow flurries and icy winds as well as Minutemen--and five of the seven innings of the contest went down one-two-three. Minutemen 9, Crimson 1 Harvard  UMass ab  r  h  bi  ab  r  h  bi Boyer cl  3  0  0  0  Caffin cf  4  3  2  0 Andrea 2b  2  1  0  0  Talbott c  3  1  0  0 Barresi c  3  0  0  0  King c  1  0  0  0 Rowning 3b  2  0  1  0  Rioux ss  4  2  4  2 Brown dh  3  0  0  0  Maher fb  3  0  1  0 Wilson rf  3  0  0  0  Streul 1b  1  0  0  0 Curighm 1b  2  0  0  0  Miller rf  2  0  0  1 McKnon if  2  0  0  0  Ringrse rf  1  1  0  1 Sakrff ss  2  0  0  0  Pokarski dh  4  1  2  0   Fratrli 2b>  4  1  2  1   Bietsch lf  4  0  1  1   Cole 3b  3  0  0  0   Read 3b  0  0  0  0 Total  22  0  1  0  34  9  12  6 Harvard  0  0  0  1  0  0  0--1 UMass  5  0  0  1  0  3  x--9

Game-winning RBI--Biatsch, E--Boyer, Andrea, Wilson, Rowning, Mackinnon, LOB--Umass 7, HArvard 2, @b--Fratlaroli, SB--Andrea, Coffin, Talbolt, Btelsch S--Barresi. Harvard  IP  H  R  ER  BB  SO UMass   6  12  9  7  1  2 UMass Stockley W  7  1  1  0  1  6 WP--Stockley, Rubin

Minutemen 5, Crimson 0 Harvard  UMass Harvard  UMass   ab  r  h  bi  ab  r  h  bi Boyer cf  1  0  0  0  Cotfin cf  4  0  1  1 McKnon cf  1  0  0  0  Talboti c  4  1  1  0 Andree 2b  2  0  0  0  King c  0  0  0  0 Barresi c  3  0  0  0  Rioux ss  2  1  1  0 Rowning 3b  3  0  0  0  Maher 1b  3  0  2  1 Brown lf  3  0  0  0  Miller lf  4  0  1  1 Wilson rf  2  0  0  0  Pekrski dh  3  0  0  0 Zchrsn dh  2  0  0  0  Fratrli 2b  3  1  0  0 Crighm 1b  2  0  0  0  Bietsch rf  3  1  0  0 Sckrft ss  2  0  0  0  Ringrse rf  0  0  0  0   Cole 3b  2  1  2  0   Read 3b  1  0  0  0 Total  20  0  0  0  29  5  8  3 Harvard  0  0  0  0  0  0  0--0 UMass  2  0  0  3  0  0  x--5

Game--winning RBI--Maher, E--Cunningham 3, Boyer, Umass 9, Harvard 2, 2b--Miller, Frattaroli, Maher, Coffin, SB--Talboti, Maher, Bietsch. Harvard  IP  H  R  ER  BB  SO Dickerman, L, 4-1  Reed W  6  8  5  2  3  1 UMass Reed W  7  0  0  0  0  9 WP--Dickerman