Is there anything she can't do?
Sophomore shortstop Deborah Abeles continued her torrid season yesterday as her three-run homer in the top of the eighth inning led the Harvard softball team (20-17) to an 8-5 extra-innings comeback win and doubleheader sweep of Boston University (16-21) in Boston. The Crimson shut out the Terriers in the first game, 5-0.
"It was exciting and it showed at lot of perseverance that we came from behind [in the second game]," said Abeles, who was 5-for-9 on the day. "It definitely feels good. In my time here we've never swept B.U."
Abeles' home run also broke or tied a slew of Harvard records. It marks her seventh home run of the year, which breaks a three-way tie for the single-season record, and the 10th of her career, which ties Abeles with Katina Lee '97 for tops in school history. The three RBI also give Abeles 73 in the short Harvard career, which shatters the previous record of 70.
Abeles' drama almost overshadows the dominant effort of senior pitcher Tasha Cupp (10-3), who tossed a three-hit, 12-strikeout gem in the opener. A three-run home run by junior Tara LaSovage was the game winner in the first game.
Freshman Mairead McKendry had two hits in the nightcap, including a game-tying homer in the seventh.
Harvard 5, B.U. 0
Cupp was nearly untouchable for seven strong innings and helped her own cause with a run-scoring double as the Crimson posted the 5-0 blanking.
LaSovage started the scoring in the third with a three-run home run, her second of the season. Harvard added insurance with a run in the fourth and another in the fifth, but the way Cupp was pitching, it seems almost gratuitous.
The 12 Terriers Cupp fanned in a season high for Harvard pitching.
"My screwball and curveball were working, [and] I may have had a little more pop on the ball," said Cupp, who did not yield an extra base hit. "It was nice to have a warm day to play, since you don't get tight in between innings."
"[Cupp] is looking great," Abeles said. "I was amazed--they just weren't touching the ball."
B.U. pitcher Robyn King took the first of two losses she would sustain on the day.
Harvard 8, B.U 5
The Crimson showed that the word "letdown" was not in its vocabulary, overcoming a 5-2 fifth inning deficit to earn the 8-5 win.
B.U. scored five runs in the fourth inning off freshman Chelsea Thoke, pitching in relief of starter Heather Brown. As it turns out, Thoke ended up holding the Terriers scoreless the rest of the way for her ninth win of the season.
After Harvard scored two in the firth to bring itself within one, McKendry did her best Jim Leyritz imitation in the top of the seventh, capping the Crimson comeback with a home run. The solo shot and the scoreless half inning that followed meant extra innings in spite of the impending darkness.
But before the lack of light could become an issue, "Debo" went to work. With one out and runners on second and third, her eighth inning drive to center popped off the glove of B.U. centerfielder Nili Schnairsohn, who could not hold onto it as she crashed through the breakaway fence. The umpires ruled it an automatic round-tripper, saying that it would have cleared the fence even without Schnairsohn's aid.
"I'm ecstatic," Abeles said. "It was really exciting. It was kind of controversial, but I'll take it."
Including last weekend's doubleheader sweeps of Ivy League foes Yale and Brown, Harvard has won six straight games. The Crimson will try to make it eight when it takes on UMass in a twinbill in Amherst.
Harvard continues its Ivy schedule Saturday at Princeton, then travels to Penn and Cornell the following weekend.
"B.U. and UMass both have good pitching, which should help prepare us for Princeton and Cornell, who have two of the best staffs in the league," Abeles said. HR: Harvard--LaSovage; BU--None. 2B: Harvard--Cupp; BU--None. E: Harvard--LaSovage; BU--None. WP: Cupp (10-3); LP: King (6-9) HR:Harvard--Abeles, McKendry;2B: Harvard--McKendry; BU--K. Herr, Schnairsohn. E: Harvard--Bagley 2; BU--K. Herr 2, Anderson. WP: Thoke (9-9); LP: King (6-10)
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