Long Beach State would finally mount an offensive rally in the sixth, as Caitrin DeBaun plated the game’s only run with a single through the right side.
NO. 20 TEXAS A&M 10, HARVARD 1
No. 20 Texas A&M (26-6) was too much for the Crimson to handle in Friday’s nightcap, as the Aggies slugged their way to a 10-1 win.
Brown shut Texas A&M down through four innings, allowing just three baserunners, before breaking down in the fifth. The Aggies launched a pair of long balls to plate six runs in the inning and scored four more off Black in the sixth.
“Although the score kind of shows a lopsided game, we stuck with them for four innings, and it was exciting to see that we could stick with that team,” Brown said. “It was very cool for us to play against these nationally-ranked teams. It shows we’re all playing the same game, and we can compete with them.”
Harvard was able to string some hits together in the bottom of the sixth, with co-captain Melissa Schellberg, who is also a Crimson sports editor, driving in her team’s only run with an infield single. But sophomore Jane Alexander struck out with the bases loaded to end the Crimson rally.
KANSAS 9, HARVARD 1
Kansas (14-15) torched Harvard, 9-1, in Friday’s opener, a run-rule game that wrapped up in five innings.
The Jayhawks struck early with four runs in the first and never looked back, plating a run in four out of the five frames.
The Crimson got its only run of the game in the top of the fourth, when sophomore Whitney Shaw and Alexander strung together back-to-back doubles.
SAN DIEGO 3, HARVARD 2
San Diego (8-15) rallied from a 2-0 hole to top Harvard, 3-2, in Thursday’s opener.
Torero Celeste Soto drove in the game-winner with a single in the top of the seventh, spoiling Brown’s complete-game, nine-strikeout performance.
The Crimson started the tournament with a bang, as Brown struck out the side in the first and senior Jen Francis blasted a two-run dinger in the bottom of the inning.
But from there, Harvard’s offense struggled, leaving at least one runner on base in the second, third, and fourth before San Diego’s Jennifer Ellenbeck closed out her complete game with three perfect innings.
—Staff writer Kate Leist can be reached at kleist@fas.harvard.edu.