Meanwhile, the sophomores—because they earned so much playing time as freshmen—are experienced beyond their years, and are capable role models for the incoming class.

“It’s a lot easier when you have someone else on the field who’s confident in what they’re telling someone else,” said Sara Williamson, the First Team All-Ivy second baseman last season. “Last year we were still trying to figure out our roles. Now that we have a year behind us, we’re trying to be better leaders.”

Those freshmen who have no upperclassmen to mentor them at their positions have had no problem fending for themselves. As a consistent freshman starter, catcher Laura Miller has hit .350—third-best on the team—and served as the vocal leader in the infield that a catcher needs to be.

“Laura Miller’s stepped up—you’d never know what class she’s in,” Williamson said. “She catches like a boy. She’s back there and intense every pitch.”

The perseverance of the freshmen and the exceptional guidance from the sophomores only adds to the strong leadership from the juniors and seniors. It begins with the captaining triumvirate of senior Lisa Watanabe, two-time All-Ivy junior Tiffany Whitton and three-time All-Ivy senior Sarah Koppel.

Whitton and last year’s tri-captain Grace Bloodwell were the original captain-elects, but when Bloodwell left the team to pursue other interests, the coaching staff chose to name Watanabe and Koppel as additional captains.

“We felt both Sarah [Koppel] and Lisa Watanabe offered something the team needed,” Allard said. “And we saw the dynamic of three people working very well, and it has.”

While Harvard’s start this year has been impressive, so has the rest of the league’s. All but two Ivy teams were .500 or better entering the weekend. Other teams have impressive freshmen of their own. Cornell’s Lauren May already has a double-digit total of home runs for the season.

“Every year the Ivy League gets better—it’s going to get harder every year,” Williamson said. “But it’s good that the Ivies are becoming more competitive in our sport.”

So far this season, the Crimson has kept pace with the ever-improving league by making significant improvements in its team speed—especially at the leadoff spot—and its pitching depth.

Harvard’s leadoff hitters during the past two years’ stretch runs were Whitton in 2000 and Cooley in 2001. Having that pair—Harvard’s two leading hitters last season—further down in the lineup naturally makes the Crimson a better team, provided there’s someone else to fill that leadoff role.

That someone else may be one of the best leadoff hitters in the nation, Lauren Stefanchik. The Harvard freshman and three-time NFCA All-American set national high school records with 295 career stolen bases. She also owns the mark for most steals in a season (91) and most consecutive steals without getting caught (164). She batted over .700 her senior year.

Stefanchik is a slap hitter and bunter with an extraordinary sense of where to place the ball.

“We’ve had kids that fast, but not that consistent at getting on base,” Allard said. “What makes her very good is she’s very consistent putting the ball in play.”

Through 17 games at Harvard thus far, Stefanchik was hitting .417 with a team-leading 15 runs scored and 12 stolen bases in 13 attempts. That batting average understates her ability to get on base, because her hits are often scored as errors when she forces infielders to rush their throws. Already a two-time Ivy Rookie of the Week honoree, she’s on pace to break the Harvard single-season stolen base record of 25 with ease.