But then Wildcat freshman ace Lauren Schwendimann, who relieved Brown in the third, pitched her way out of the second-and-third, no-out jam. She retired Godfree, Abeles and McKendry in a row to escape without Harvard building a substantial lead.

It was the fourth time in the first five innings that the Crimson had left runners at second and third. As great as the Harvard bats were on the day, they were unable to drive Whitton home on either of her doubles, even though both came with nobody out. The final missed opportunity in the fifth set up the game's disastrous conclusion.

Abeles--this year's Ivy League Player of the Year--deserved a much better ending to her career than what she had to experience. Hampered by a broken wrist throughout the past month, she was hitless in five at-bats and made two errors in the two NCAA Regional games.

"Deborah's had trouble coming through, both hitting and throwing," Allard said. "We've just kind of worked with [the injury], taped it up. She's a trooper for playing with it. She's a great leader."

Abeles managed to play through the pain whenever she felt that she could make a difference.

"We're very proud of her putting up with all she's put up with over the last four years," Amberg. "She's been injured an unbelievable amount, and played incredibly hard regardless."

The success that Abeles has had in her career will be difficult for anyone to match. A career .378 hitter, she owns the Harvard records for career hits, home runs and RBI.