It wasn’t another crushing season-ending Red Sox loss.

But on a slightly smaller diamond in Providence, a different devastating loss prompted comments like “maybe next year.” Harvard softball (22-20-1) had lost all remaining chances at an Ivy Championship in 2004 by squandering a lead in both games of its doubleheader against Brown.

It was a microcosm of the season. Harvard had the chances, but in the end, it could not convert.

The 2004 campaign saw the Crimson take an early lead in the Ivy standings, sweeping the first weekend’s doubleheaders against Penn and Princeton. Harvard had to come back in the bottom of the 20th inning of the first game to beat the Tigers, 2-1.

But the success was short-lived as the Crimson went on the road the following weekend where it split with league-leading Cornell and was swept by Columbia.

Harvard kept itself alive in the Ivy race by dominating Yale in the first doubleheader of the weekend. But crucial losses to Brown the following afternoon sealed the Crimson’s fate, making Harvard’s final games with Dartmouth only about pride.

Harvard’s biggest loss from its 2003 squad was Tiffany Whitton, but the Crimson had six talented freshmen waiting to take her place. The entire pitching staff returned, anchored by senior co-captain ace Kara Brotemarkle. Behind the plate, three women competed for the starting nod, including returning sophomore Erin Halpenny and junior transfer Annie Dell’Aria.

With all the returning talent, it didn’t really look like a recipe for a rebuilding year, but the 2003 season had left deep wounds.

But the Crimson climbed back to the top as a major league contender and a force to be reckoned with. And after being so far from a championship last year, close was good enough for this team.

“We wanted to improve upon last year’s performance and reestablish ourselves as a dominant force in the Ivies,” Brotemarkle said. “I think we certainly did that. We ended the season proud of what we had done.”

And unlike last year, there were no regrets as the 2004 season came to a close.

“This team gave me the great reward of walking away after 12 long years of competitive softball with a sense of accomplishment and closure,” Williamson said. “It was truly such a rewarding year.”

The Crimson’s schedule was frontloaded with several difficult road contests. Harvard headed west to Illinois, where it started off a rough 1-3 in the Brechtelsbauer Classic. The Crimson improved to 4-5 in the Bethune Cookman Tournament in Florida.

Harvard spent the first half of Spring Break in Texas where it went 2-3 in the Wells Fargo Classic. Then it returned home, where it lost by one run and tied powerhouse Providence (38-17).

After competing in the George Mason Invitational in Virginia, the Crimson returned home with an even 10-10-1 record. It came closer than ever to beating state-rival UMass, dropping both ends of a doubleheader at home before Ivy play began.