Then, with the game in hand for the home team and dusk descending on Boston, the umpires called an end to another disappointing outing for Harvard.
BU 4, HARVARD 3
The Crimson built a hard-fought 3-0 lead in the opener, but let the margin slip away down the stretch and eventually fell by one in the first extra stanza on a controversial call.
BU chipped away with a notch in the fifth and a two-run shot in the bottom of the seventh by centerfielder Chiya Louie before stealing the win in the eighth. A one-out single and a steal off Voaklander set the stage for Jamie Haas—5-for-10 on the day—to come through for the Terriers.
She dumped the ball into left field and when as the runner rounded third and senior Annie Dell’Aria cocked to throw home, the umpire ruled catcher’s interference at the plate to permit the contentious score.
“It was a bad call by the umpire,” Kidder said. “It was an awful obstruction call in the 8th inning.”
Harvard surged to its apparently secure three-run lead with a pair of run-scoring innings.
“We came out really strong at the beginning,” McAteer said. “But we just kind of coasted. We just needed that one extra hit that would have closed the door, but we just didn’t get it.”
In the top of the first, Kerper knocked in seniors Lauren Stefanchik—who singled and stole a base to ignite the rally—and Cecily Gordon from second and third.
Then, the Crimson added to its lead with three singles in the fourth. Winkeller, getting a rare start, singled to center off BU’s Ashlee Freeman, who went all eight innings. Winkeller was followed by singles to left field by sophomore Lauren Brown and co-captain Kerry Flaherty, filling in for the injured Kidder at second.
Meanwhile, freshman Shelly Madick dominated the Terriers through the first four innings, racking up eight strikeouts, allowing only two hits, and escaping a no-out, bases-loaded jam in the third. She tired down the stretch, though, as BU pulled even.
Harvard hopes to break its slide as it returns to Ivy League play this weekend with a trip to Princeton and Penn.
—Staff writer Jonathan Lehman can be reached at lehman@fas.harvard.edu.