Cornell 5, Harvard 3

In the opener, Harvard allowed a 2-1 lead to slip away late in the game, making it necessary for the Crimson to sweep the next two games. Whitton started the game and performed well, striking out eight and allowing two earned runs.

Whitton's clutch performance was negated by the quiet Harvard bats. The Crimson failed to take advantage of several scoring opportunities against Cornell freshman Nicole LePera.

In the second inning, Harvard could not bring Koppel home from third with two outs.

Again in the third, Harvard wasted a tremendous scoring chance.

Although the Crimson got an RBI single from Cooley, it could not plate another run with the bases loaded and only one out.

"It seemed like we were putting a lot of pressure on ourselves to get the big hit," said McKendry. "We weren't playing relaxed."

The Crimson's one-run lead lasted shortly. Varde, the team's offensive leader, put the Big Red on the board with a solo blast to center field.

Whitton settled down and struck out two batters to end the frame.

Harvard tacked on another run in the fourth, again on a Cooley single.

In a strong year with championship results, Cooley has no doubt been one of the brighter spots for the Crimson.

She was fourth in the Ivy League in batting coming into the weekend, and is a strong candidate for Rookie of the Year honors.

Whitton ran into trouble in the sixth, as a Hricenak walk and Christina Trout double to center put runners on second and third with only one out.

Thoke came in to relieve Whitton, and allowed two runs to come in. After senior Allison Batten singled in a run, the Big Red brought in pinch hitter Kelli Larsen.

Larsen had doubled in the game-winning runs against Thoke in an important contest during the 1999 season. On Saturday she reprised her role as Crimson killer, delivering a clutch two-out single to bring Batten in and give Cornell the lead.