In the two losses, good pitching couldn't offset non-existent hitting and defensive troubles. Bakersfield scored two runs in the fourth thanks to a pair of errors, while all of UC-Davis' runs came from a two-out rally in the fourth, negating a strong outing by sophomore pitcher Tasha Cupp.

Against NYT, however, it all came together for the Crimson for the first time since the Pacific game. Reinhard started things off with a three-run homer down the left-field line in the first inning, and Franzese added a grand slam and a two-run triple in back-to-back innings to ice the win.

And in a sign that things were going right, freshman pitcher Kathleen Brown caught a line drive with her hip. Well, sort of--the ball fortuitously lodged itself between her side and her throwing hand before she could react.

The results of these three games pitted Harvard against Chapman in the first round of the winner's bracket as the third seed in the East, and Chapman won, 3-0, moving the Crimson to the consolation tournament. Harvard did not lose again.

Actually, the Crimson didn't even give up a run again. The first sacrificial lamb was George Fox, a school in Oregon that Harvard beat 5-0. Then it was Chico State, 11-0, and in the consolation finals Harvard defeated Cal-State San Bernardino, 8-0, punctuated by a homer from junior third baseman Katina Lee that invoked the eight-run "mercy rule."

So by the end, the Crimson was destroying some pretty decent teams.

"Towards the end of the week we just did it," Franzese said. "It felt good to win, and we established an attitude of aggressiveness that we had been trying to get all along."

Notes

Harvard next faces off against Rhode Island in a doubleheader this afternoon at Ohiri Field at 3 p.m., its first home games of the season...Reinhard was named first-team All-Tournament at the Pioneer Classic, while junior Melissa Kreuder got the same award for the Sacramento State Tournament.