Freshman Lauren Murphy leads the Ivy League with twelve home runs this season, including two this weekend against Yale.

Behind strong pitching, the Harvard softball team took the first three games of its four-game series at Yale to leave New Haven still in first place in the Ivy League North Division.

The Crimson (18-12, 7-5 Ivy) entered the weekend two games ahead of both the Bulldogs and Dartmouth. But while it put some distance between itself and Yale (18-12, 3-9 Ivy), the Big Green gained ground by winning all four of its games at Brown to move within one game of Harvard.

“It’s nice to be in first, but I wish we had a bigger lead,” Crimson coach Jenny Allard said.

YALE 5, HARVARD 2

After scoring just three runs in the first three games, Yale’s bats came alive in the second game on Saturday, as the Bulldogs salvaged the final game of the four-game set.

Harvard grabbed a 2-0 lead in the top of third, but Yale came back to tie the game in the bottom of the inning with two runs on two hits off junior Shelly Madick.

In the next inning, Yale grabbed its first lead of the series. Junior Amanda Watkins (5-1), who replaced Madick to start the inning, walked the bases loaded before giving up a two-out, two-run single to second baseman Christina Guerland, one of her three hits on the day.

“Both Shelly and Amanda had trouble getting ahead of batters,” Allard said. “We have to do a better job on the mound.”

The Crimson managed only four hits against the Bulldogs’ pitching tandem of Kayla Kuretich and Deanna DiBernardi. Kuretich went the first four innings and allowed just three hits to improve to 3-3 on the season. DiBernardi allowed just one hit in three innings of relief to pick up her first save of the season.

Yale’s pitchers were strong throughout the weekend, not surprising considering the Bulldogs rank second in the Ivy League in team ERA with a 2.39 mark.

Harvard threatened in the fifth when it loaded the bases against DiBernardi with just one out. But the reliever got junior first baseman Danielle Kerper to strike out and senior right fielder Susie Winkeller to fly out to center, ending the threat.

Yale added an insurance run in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by sophomore right fielder Kyli Hanson.

HARVARD 1, YALE 0

Freshman Dana Roberts went the distance, allowing just five hits with no walks in the best performance of her collegiate career.

Lauren Murphy led off the second inning with her league-leading 12th home run of the season to provide the winning margin for the Crimson. It was the second time this weekend one of her blasts proved to be the difference in the final score.

“She was very clutch for us,” Allard said. “We were scrambling for runs this weekend.”

Other than Murphy’s home run, Harvard’s offense was held in check by Yale sophomore starter Rebecca Wojciak, who allowed just four hits and did not walk a single hitter.

Luckily for the Crimson, Yale could do little on offense against Roberts. The Bulldogs didn’t have an extra-base hit all day and didn’t have multiple runners in one inning until the sixth. In the seventh, the leadoff hitter singled, but Roberts got the next three hitters to ground into outs, as Harvard took the third game of the series.

“We only got her one run, but that was all she needed,” said captain and second baseman Julia Kidder.

HARVARD 5, YALE 2

A four-run first was more than enough for the Crimson, as it completed the doubleheader sweep of Yale on Friday by winning the nightcap, 5-2.

Harvard got four runs in the first frame with just two hits, thanks to three Bulldog errors. The first two batters of the game, senior shortstop Lauren Brown and freshman centerfielder Stephanie Krysiak, each reached on errors. Kidder sacrificed them over to second and third, then Murphy walked to load the bases.

Brown came home on a fielder’s choice grounder by Kerper that forced Murphy at second.

With runners on first and third, Winkeller hit a long fly ball to left. Both base runners went back to tag, assuming the ball would be caught as the ball hit the left fielder’s glove just shy of the wall. The left fielder then hit the wall and the ball popped out of her glove and went over the fence for a home run. But while Kerper was waiting to tag at first, Winkeller ran past her.

After some confusion, Winkeller was ruled out, while Krysiak and Kerper scored.

Harvard got that run back two batters later. Freshman catcher Jessica Pledger reached on yet another Yale error. She scored on freshman third baseman Melissa Schellberg’s RBI double for a 4-0 lead.

Watkins made the lead hold up as she threw her second complete game of the season. She allowed scattered runs in the third and seventh innings while striking out four and worked around five hits and five walks.

“Watkins struggled with her walks, but she did a great job coming back to get key outs,” Allard said.

Kerper added a solo home run in the seventh for the final Crimson run.

HARVARD 2, YALE 1

It was a tough weekend for Yale starter Wojciak, who was outdueled by a Harvard pitcher twice in two days. In the series opener, it was Madick who shut down the Yale offense, allowing just three hits and two walks in picking up her sixth complete game and improving to 8-3 on the year.

Murphy hit a solo home run in the third to break a 1-1 tie, and the score would not change after that.

“[Murphy] is a great hitter with great confidence, and we have great confidence in her,” Kidder said.

Harvard got on the board in the top of the second on a two-out RBI single by sophomore right fielder Bailey Vertovez that scored Winkeller from third.

But the Bulldogs came back in the bottom of the inning, getting its own two-out run on an RBI double by Hanson.

The hosts could do little against Madick after that hit. The junior retired the last 12 Yale batters of the game.

—Staff writer Ted Kirby can be reached at tjkirby@fas.harvard.edu.