The key mistakes were Koppel letting a fly ball drop in front of her, freshman Beth Sabin running into an out at second before Stefanchik crossed the plate on what looked to be a sacrifice fly, and sophomore Breanne Cooley throwing away a grounder with a runner in scoring position. Each gaffe cost Harvard or permitted Cornell a run.

“We didn’t throw the game away, but we didn’t capitalize on all of our opportunities and we made some mistakes defensively we shouldn’t have made,” Allard said.

Two of Harvard’s runs came on RBI from Goldberg—one on a solo shot, the second on a single driving in Whitton. Goldberg, who had been hitting below .200 entering Ivy play, finished the season as the team’s No. 3 hitter behind Whitton and Stefanchik.

Harvard 1, Columbia 0

Given that Harvard had never scored more than two runs in a game against Lion ace Allison Buehler, the Crimson knew it needed to near-flawless pitching and defense to win the ECAC opener, but it did just that in securing the 1-0 victory on Saturday morning as Guy pitched a complete-game, four-hit shutout.

Goldberg’s solo home run—a clean line drive to left-center in the bottom of the second—was all the offense Harvard needed as it dispatched the Lions in just 70 minutes of play.

The Lions’ best chance to score came in the top of the fourth when it had runners at first and second with none out, but a disputed call was their undoing.

In one of the deciding plays of the game, the Lions’ Hilary Jacobs grounded to short into the path of baserunner April Jarvis, who collided with Goldberg as she charged the ball. A lengthy discussion between the umpires and Allard ensued, and Jarvis was called out because she did not yield to the fielder making a play on the ball.

Columbia coach Christine Vogt ’94 was hoping for an obstruction call on Goldberg under the argument that she was playing the runner and not the ball. But Allard—and ultimately the umpires—felt Goldberg was making a sufficient charge.

“Sometimes players get overzealous and they see the runner and try to create a collision,” Allard said. “But I didn’t feel [Goldberg’s collision] was blatant enough. And I said, ‘This is what the rulebook says.’ [The umpire] knew it, and he made the correct call.”

The ruling left Columbia with two on and one out instead of the bases loaded with no one out—a dramatic swing of fortune.

After the next Lion batter grounded out and advanced the runners to second and third with two outs, Buehler had a chance to give herself some support from the plate, and she connected well on a hard line drive to second. But senior Cherry Fu made the catch, redeeming herself for an error earlier that inning.

With plenty of time left before the next ECAC game, Allard chose to honor the seniors immediately following the victory over Lions. Watanabe, Fu, Guy and Koppel were saluted for their four years of service and their achievements. One day later, they closed out their careers as ECAC champions.

“It’s a good end to a career,” Koppel said. “I’m sure all the seniors are happy with it. I’m sad. I love playing. We all came together and played really well, which is a great feeling to have to leave on.”