“Against BU we had one bad inning which determined the outcome,” Allard said. “It was great that the team battled back to take the second game.”
In the second game, Harvard went up 3-0 in the first. That was all the offense McAteer needed. She pitched six solid shutout innings before being pulled after surrendering a run in the seventh. She upped her record to 2-3 on the season.
McAteer and Brotemarkle having gotten most of the innings for the Crimson. Harvard’s staff is the youngest it has been in years since Suzanne Guy left the team and Whitton chose to focus exclusively on hitting. Five pitchers in all have seen action in the circle for the Crimson.
“Our pitching has progressed over break,” Allard said. “We are trying to come together as a staff. Kara is becoming more consistent and Michele has thrown some great games.”
Southern Discomfort
Harvard’s lone victory in its three southern doubleheaders came on March 25 by a 4-2 margin in the second game against Georgia State. McAteer gave up two runs in 4.2 innings for her first collegiate win. The Crimson fell 6-0 in the first game.
In the first game against Georgia Tech the next day, sophomore Cecily Gordon’s two-run single put Harvard up 2-0 in the third. In the circle, Brotemarkle made just two crucial mistakes—surrending a two-run homer than a three-run homer to Georgia Tech’s Tara Knudsen. The Yellow Jackets triumphed, 5-2.
“Playing a team like Georgia Tech let us see what will happen if we misjudge even a small thing,” Brotemarkle said. “The upside is that we have seen the result and next time we see them, or a team similar to them, we should handle the situation better and come out on top in both games.”
In the second game, Whitton’s two-run double to put Harvard up 2-0, put Georgia Tech came back against McAteer and Tanner to win the game 3-2.
“In the end, they came through with the clutch hits,” Whitton said. “Maybe next time we'll come with the clutch hits. That's the greatest thing about playing forty games in a season.”
Harvard had few positives from its March 27 doubleheader at Chattanooga. The Crimson fell 10-2 in the first game and 6-0 in the second.
Buzz Classic
Harvard has had past success in the Buzz Classic tournament, having placed second in the 25-team tournament as recently as two years ago. This time, it was not to be as the Crimson went 1-2 in round robin play and fell 6-4 in its bracket opener against Mercer.
The Crimson came from behind to go up 4-2 against Mercer on the strength of two home runs by Miller, but Mercer came back for four runs off Brotemarkle in the final frame.
Harvard’s lone win in bracket play was by a 5-2 margin against Charleston Southern. Whitton homered in the victory and Brotemarkle earned the win. Harvard fell 10-3 to North Carolina and 7-2 Campbell in its other two games. Sabin’s three-run homer was a bright spot against the Tar Heels.
Dan Fernandez contributed to the reporting of this article.
—Staff writer David R. De Remer can be reached at remer@fas.harvard.edu