Senior Jen Francis, shown here in earlier action, launched a two-run bomb in the first inning of Harvard’s tournament opener on Thursday. But the softball squad struggled from there, losing all five games in the San Diego Classic II while playing against ranked competition for the first time.

For the Harvard softball team, a trip to California didn’t bring much fun in the sun.

Playing against some of its stiffest competition of the season, the Crimson (4-12) dropped five games at the San Diego Classic II at the USD Softball Complex this weekend.

“We didn’t feel defeated by these losses,” sophomore pitcher Rachel Brown said. “We knew these were going to be tough teams…They were scheduled to make us better. And instead of playing easier teams, we wanted to play good competition and get ready for Ivies.”

Harvard’s pitchers kept many of the games close, as the squad dropped a pair of decisions by a single run, but a lack of timely hitting prevented the Crimson from coming away with wins.

“I think we’re definitely feeling like we’re hitting our stride,” Harvard coach Jenny Allard said. “We’re just trying to polish ourselves and work on getting those timely hits.”

SAN DIEGO STATE 4, HARVARD 0

The Crimson bats were again quiet in the squad’s final game of the weekend, as Harvard mustered just five singles in a 4-0 loss to San Diego State (18-8).

Freshman pitcher Jessica Ferri kept the Aztecs—now on a 10-game win streak—quiet through the first four innings before allowing two runs in the fifth on a walk and a pair of singles, aided by two stolen bases.

San Diego State padded its lead in the sixth, as co-captain Margaux Black allowed a fielder’s choice and a single that, combined with an error, put two more runs on the board.

“Our goal on Sunday was to be clean on defense, and we made one throwing error in 14 innings of play,” Allard said. “We had great at-bats—what we lacked was just getting the hits when we needed them.”

LONG BEACH STATE 1, HARVARD 0

Earlier on Saturday, the Crimson lost a 1-0 pitcher’s duel to Long Beach State (13-13).

49ers pitcher Brooke Turner allowed just two Harvard hits and didn’t allow a runner past second in a complete-game shutout.

Brown pitched three dominant innings—allowing just one hit—before yielding to Black in the fourth.

“Margaux Black really came on and was really effective for us in a few of these games this weekend,” Allard said. “It was great to see her hold some of those great-hitting teams [quiet]…Our pitchers were really stepping up, and I could see their confidence increasing.”