It's an entirely new season once the playoffs begin. The Harvard softball team is about to find that out first hand.

Harvard (31-20, 12-0 Ivy) will kick off its first-ever NCAA appearance this afternoon at home on Soldiers Field with a doubleheader against Holy Cross (31-17-1, 15-5 Patriot) in a best-of-three play-in series. The winner of the series will advance to the NCAA Regional with a chance to move on to the College World Series.

Game 1 against the Crusaders will begin at 3 p.m. with the nightcap scheduled to start 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game. If necessary, game three will be played on Soldiers Field tomorrow at noon.

"We're a little nervous, but on the whole we'll be pretty confident," said senior pitcher Tasha Cupp. "Our goal is to take two; hopefully it won't go three."

The matchup between the Crimson and the Crusaders is a rematch of an earlier two-game set that the teams split in Worcester. Harvard took the early game on April 7, 6-1, but Holy Cross managed to shut out its cross-state foe in the second game, 2-0.

However Harvard did not start its ace Cupp in either game against Holy Cross. Cupp entered game in two in relief of senior Heather Brown after the Crimson already trailed.

"All of our pitchers are good," Cupp said. "We should be able to limit Holy Cross to one or no runs. I feel that whoever does start, we have a great shot."

Freshman Chelsea Thoke was the Harvard pitcher who hurled her team to victory in the season's first meeting between Harvard and Holy Cross. Thoke went all seven innings, gave up just five hits and struck out 10 to pick up the 6-1 win.

The Crimson's offense against the Lady Crusaders was led by the usual cast. Co-captain Jenny Franzese and sophomore Ghia Godfree each had three-for-six performances, and sophomore Deborah Abeles went four-for-six.

This time around, Harvard will have the home field advantage over Holy Cross--Harvard is 7-1 at home this year--and the Crimson is playing its best softball of the season at the perfect time.

Since its loss to Holy Cross, Harvard has compiled a record of 17-3 and is currently on an eight-game winning streak. The Crimson that faced Holy Cross in early April was struggling to score runs consistently, while the Crimson of early May is not only scoring in droves, but also plating baserunners in timely fashion.

Harvard has received the clutch hits when it has needed them over the last month, and the Crimson has improved in nearly every offensive category. As a team, Harvard has bettered its batting average (.275 to .282), slugging percentage (.374 to .386). More impressive is Harvard's increased power in the last month--the Crimson hit eight home runs in its first 31 games; the team has hit the same number in its last 20 games.

"The last time we played Holy Cross, we were struggling to be consistent," Cupp said. "For whatever reason, we've reached that point [of consistency]. We're a completely different team now."

Perhaps of the most remarkable improvement by a single player has come from junior co-captain Tara LaSovage. LaSovage has increased her average and slugging percentage from .278 and .375, respectively, on April 7 to .364 and .554--both second on the team--heading into the playoffs.

In her first 72 at-bats of the season, LaSovage recorded 20 hits, two doubles, one triple, one home run and 10 RBI. In her last 49 turns at the plate, she has amassed 24 hits, four doubles, three triples, two round-trippers and 12 ribbies. LaSovage is batting .490 since April 7 and hit a team high .526 versus Ivy League pitching this year.

"The main thing that happened was that I got some hits to fall, and that got my confidence up," LaSovage said. "I just go up there looking to drive the ball hard, and I expect it to fall."

As impressive as the offensive improvement has been. Harvard's defense has been the key to the team's late season charge. In its last 20 games, Harvard upped its fielding percentage to .957 and has reduced its errors nearly by half.

Harvard's pitching has been its strength, and Cupp and Thoke have led the way with phenomenal second halves of the season. In her last 10 appearances, Thoke has either recorded a win or a save, going 7-0 over that stretch with three saves.

She has also lowered her ERA from 5.68 on April 7 to 4.11 at the end of the regular season. She finished as the Ivy League leader in strikeouts (152 in 131 and-one third innings), and she is a serious contender for the Ivy League Rookie of the Year award.

Cupp has been, in a word, sensational, Harvard's season and career record holder for strikeouts, Cupp capped off her regular-season career with her best performances. The senior southpaw has an 8-2 record since April 7, and she has lowered her ERA in that time from 2.62 to a team-low 1.89. This week--after throwing Harvard first even perfect game on Tuesday, April 28--she earned Ivy League Pitcher of the Week honors for the third time this season, and she is in contention for Ivy Pitcher of the Year.

"The season of has gone pretty well, and we want that to continue if I go my goal is to not let them score,"

Harvard might very well sweep the Ivy awards this year as LaSovage's late-season charge makes her a candidate for Ivy Player of the Year. LaSovage's main competition for the honor should come from her teammate Abeles, last year's Ivy Rookie of the Year and a three-time Player of the Week this season.

Having firmly established itself as the top team in the Ivy League, Harvard enters an arena it has never before experienced--the NCAA Division I Softball Championship. With the roll the team has been on, it will be difficult for the Crusaders to derail this Crimson express.

"I feel confident," LaSovage said. "We're all pretty excited. We've seen [Holy Cross] before, and we know what to expect.

"We're definitely playing our best softball right now. All three of our pitchers are ready to go. I don't think Holy Cross will score many runs on us."