Madick struck out the side in the second and fourth innings on her way to a season-high 13 Ks, extending her team lead in the category. She never flagged as the game wore on, fanning two in the final frame.

While Madick is only a freshman, she was still able to feed off the adrenaline associated with the quest for redemption after Harvard’s two pivotal losses against Brown last year.

“I think there was just an overall energy on the team,” she said. “I think the team has some unfinished business that they wanted to come back this year and take two wins against [Brown], so I think we were all pumped up for it.”

Madick was staked to an early lead, as her offense touched Bears starter Uchenna Omokaro for two runs in the first. Senior Lauren Stefanchik got things started with her speed, reaching on a bunt single and stealing second. She was driven in on an RBI single by sophomore Julia Kidder, who later came around to score on a Brown error. Freshman Danielle Kerper also contributed one of her three doubles on the afternoon.

“They came out ready,” Allard said of her hitters, “and scoring a run immediately set a great tone.”

In addition to forcing the Bears to play catch-up from the start, the early Crimson runs also helped to open up Madick’s pitching, allowing her to be more aggressive with her approach to the Brown hitters.

“It’s always nice to be able to go right at batters, and just know that you have runs behind you, so you know that if you miss a pitch, it’s OK,” she said. “I think it definitely helps with the mentality to be ahead.”