Bettinelli—who also went 2-for-3 with two runs scored—got the start in the circle, the last of her collegiate career. She went three innings and picked up the win, her first of the year. Junior Michele McAteer relieved for the final two frames, allowing only one earned run.
The Harvard barrage came at the expense of Columbia hurler Megan Ivey, who surrendered all 16 hits and 12 hits in only 4 1/3 innings.
HARVARD 6, COLUMBIA 2
A strong outing from starter Shelly Madick and a balanced offensive attack carried Harvard to an easy 6-2 win in the opener.
The top of the lineup got on base, the middle of the order provided the pop, and No. 9 hitter Lauren Brown went deep for the Crimson, which never trailed.
“It’s nice to come out after dropping the two to Cornell and really beating up on a team a bit,” Bettinelli said. “And everyone—one through nine—was hitting the ball.”
After retiring the side in order in the first, Columbia starter Jackie Adelfio could not keep Harvard off the board in any of the ensuing five innings, as it tallied a pair in the fourth and single runs on the four other occasions.
“I’ve seen the first pitcher,” Stefanchik said. “I played against her in high school all the time. I just felt good at the plate today.”
An RBI bloop single by sophomore Susie Winkeller in the second and an unearned run generated by Stefanchik in the third staked the Crimson to a 2-0 lead, before it posted a crooked number in the fourth.
Kerper led off with a walk and advanced to second on a sharp single by Gordon. Winkeller, after two failed bunt attempts, drove the two-strike pitch off the wall in right field for her second hit and RBI of the day.
“It’s great to see that someone can step up like that,” Bettinelli said of Winkeller. “As soon as she got in the lineup, she’s been hitting it hard. It’s been really impressive.”
Gordon moved to third on the play and scored on a Murray sacrifice fly.
A run-scoring single by Kerper and Brown’s longball in the sixth rounded out the scoring for Harvard, which reached double digits in hits for just the fifth time all year.
Madick twirled six shutout innings to keep the Lions at bay, allowing four hits and exiting with a comfortable 6-0 edge. Sophomore Becky Voaklander surrendered three straight hits to begin the seventh before settling down and setting down three Lions to close out the game.
“It’s just trying to stay sharp, to end on a good note,” Bettinelli said. “You still want all of your pitches moving, you still want to come out strong. And our pitching has been effective all season I think.”
The contest was punctuated by a pair of controversial plays in the fifth inning, one benefiting Harvard and one short-changing it.
In the top half, a batter’s interference call on an attempted steal stifled a potential Lions rally as they trailed 4-0. As catcher Erin Halpenny came across the plate to throw, she was obstructed by the hitter, forcing her to double-pump and her throw to arrive late at second. The baserunner was returned to first base and, after lengthy deliberations that visibly perturbed Columbia coach Kayla Noonan, the batter was called out.
Then, with one out in the bottom of the inning, Sabin launched a deep drive to center that glanced off the centerfielder’s glove and over the wall. The play was judged a ground-rule double and Sabin denied her rightful fourth home run of the year.
“My mistake was not challenging them [on Sabin’s double],” Allard said. “I should have known. They in effect got one right and missed one.”
—Staff writer Jonathan Lehman can be reached at jlehman@fas.harvard.edu.