The Crimson added another run in the fourth when McKendry tagged her first tater of the season, a line drive that was still rising as it cleared the fence in left.

"We didn't score a ton of runs in California," Abeles said. "Now people are becoming more confident that we can score."

Meanwhile, Koppel was on the mound looking for her first collegiate victory, and she narrowly averted a pair of threats by the Crusaders thanks to some nifty defense by the Crimson.

Holy Cross had runners at second and third with one out in the top of the second, but Koppel got the Crusaders' Sarah Thomas to fly out to freshman Lisa Watanabe in leftfield before senior second baseman Tara LaSovage snagged Alexis Lyon's line drive to end the inning.

Holy Cross threatened in the fourth as well. The Crusaders once again had runners on second and third with only one out, but junior first baseman Ghia Godfree snatched a bunt attempt out of the air and alertly threw to Abeles, who was covering third, for the double play to get Koppel out of the jam.

But Koppel's luck ran out in the fifth. With two outs and a runner on third, Holy Cross junior catcher Briana Crane singled into centerfield to plate the Crusaders' first run. Crane reached third on the play when the ball got by Amberg and rolled all the way to the fence.

Sophomore Jaime Olenoski doubled to drive Crane in, and another Harvard error allowed tri-captain Jennifer Jenkins to reach base. Freshman Liz Curll then smashed a Koppel offering over the centerfield fence to give Holy Cross a 5-3 lead.

The Crimson did not allow the Crusaders to entertain thoughts of grandeur very long. After back-to-back singles by LaSovage and Amberg and an Abeles walk to start the bottom half of the fifth, Teller knocked a two-run double into right-centerfield to tie the game. Godfree later singled up the middle to score Abeles with the eventual game-winning run, and Watanabe's bloop single plated Teller for some insurance.