The Harvard softball team wasn't a very good guest this past Saturday up at Burlington, Vermont. Harvard  1  4 Vermont  0  1

Either that or Vermont was a very giving host. For the Crimson (20-12, 7-3 Ivy) snapped the Catamounts' eight-game home winning streak at A.T. Post Field, winning 1-0 and 4-1.

The Crimson has now won three games in a row and 10 of its last 11 games.

Harvard's pitchers overpowered the Catamounts (16-15), as freshmen Tasha Cupp and Heather Brown yielded but one run (none earned) on the afternoon. Cupp went the distance in the first, yielding only three hits while striking out five. Brown hurled the first five innings of the second, and Cupp came in to pick up the save, shutting Vermont down over the final two innings.

"The pitching was the key to our victories," senior Cheryl Sadow said. "Cupp pitched outstanding, and Brown was wonderful, too."

Harvard I, Vermont 0

The gloomy weather produced a perfect background for the big mystery of the first game.

The enigma--Vermont presented a pitcher with no speed and no movement, yet Harvard managed only six hits and one run.

The lone run came in the top of the fifth, as sophomore Sara Cushman singled to lead off and moved to third after the Catamounts botched two Crimson bunts. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Cushman scored on a passed ball.

However, Harvard failed to capitalize further and stranded a pair of runners in scoring position.

Poor hitting was the one flaw for Harvard in the game. The Crimson constantly popped up, the result of swinging too early rather than waiting on Catamount Wendy Houston's meatballs.

"The first pitcher was so slow," junior Amy Reinhard said. "We just weren't waiting."

Harvard had little to fear from the Catamounts, however, as Cupp was on her game. The freshman allowed only three baserunners on the afternoon, striking out six while walking none.

In fact, Vermont hit less than a half-dozen balls out of the infield in the game. But when they make good contact, Harvard made the plays.

"We played excellent defense," Cupp said.