The Harvard softball team finally got the chance this weekend to prove its Ivy League dominance.

The Crimson made up a doubleheader against Princeton at home on Sunday, and played single games against Yale and Penn at New Haven on Saturday. Without any bad weather to stop Harvard this time, the Crimson opponents were mercifully dispatched one by one.

On the weekend, Harvard (16-18, 9-0 Ivy) twice forced the invocation of the eight-run mercy rule, winning 9-1against Penn (13-28-1, 2-8) and in the second Princeton (19-25, 6-6) game. Yale (19-23-1, 5-7) was no match either, as the Crimson won convincingly 9-3. The only reasonable challenge came in the first Princeton game, when Harvard overcame an early deficit to win 6-2.

The Harvard offensive surge on the weekend was led by junior Mairead McKendry, who went 8-for-12 with a home run and seven RBIs, and freshman Tiffany Whitton, who hit 6-for-13 and scored seven times.

The Crimson has now scored at least nine runs in six of its nine Ivy games, and has outscored its Ivy opponents by a combined total of 71-20.

With the four victories, Harvard shored up its spot on the top of the Ivy standings. Dartmouth (25-11, 6-2) is the only team still mathematically alive in the race. Even a split of Thursday's doubleheader against the Big Green would give the Crimson its second Ivy title in three years and an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Harvard 9, Princeton 1

The game was essentially over in the bottom of the first when Whitton, the leadoff hitter, greeted Princeton pitcher Dana Freiser by sending a 2-1 pitch into the bushes behind the left-field fence.