With the score tied in the bottom of the seventh inning, two runners in scoring position, and the sun setting in the distance, the situation was primed for a dramatic game-ending hit.

Instead, the Crimson won the nightcap on a wild pitch.

It was that kind of day for Harvard (5-9) as it swept a doubleheader over Rhode Island (2-20) in its home opener at Soldiers Field.

A combination of timely hitting, clutch pitching, and a few lucky bounces carried the Crimson past the Rams in the team’s final tune-up before the Ivy League slate kicks off this weekend.

The pair of wins also helped to erase memories of a lackluster spring break and to solidify a lineup that had suffered recently from injuries.

HARVARD 5, RHODE ISLAND 4

Senior Lauren Stefanchik scooted home with the winning run in the last half of the seventh inning, capitalizing on a wild pitch by Rhode Island pitcher Jill Anderson.

Stefanchik led off the frame with a sharp single up the middle and moved to second on a bunt single by sophomore Julia Kidder. After both runners moved into scoring position on a sacrifice from catcher Annie Dell’Aria, Anderson’s erratic aim and a fortunate hop away from the catcher proved the difference.

“I was getting kind of antsy on third,” Stefanchik said. “She was a little wild and I was just ready to score and get the win.”

“I kept saying to the runner at third ‘She’s throwing low, stay ready’,” Harvard head coach Jenny Allard said. “We were hoping for a big hit to end it but you have to stay ready for anything.”

Before the wild pitch, the Crimson had failed to take advantage of multiple chances to take the lead in the fifth and the sixth innings, preserving a stalemate that endured since the action-packed fourth ended with the score knotted at 4.

In the top of that inning, Rhode Island chased freshman starter Amanda Watkins from the circle, rapping out three straight hits to tie the game at 1 before Watkins could get an out.

Junior Michele McAteer, returning to action from a bout with tendinitis, couldn’t stem the tide, retiring two hitters before Chelsea Wolfe smacked a two-run blast over the left field wall.

Facing a 4-1 deficit, Harvard stayed confident and promptly delivered a two-out rally to tie the score.