“Without my defense behind me, I wouldn’t be doing as well as I’m doing now,” Black said. “Because I’m a ground-ball pitcher, I get a lot of balls hit on the ground, so my defense is making incredible plays behind me.”

BROWN 1, HARVARD 0

Harvard sophomore Rachel Brown and the Bears’ Kristie Chin—two of the top pitchers in the Ivy League—made sure the first game was a quiet one at the plate. Neither team recorded a hit until the fourth inning, when Brown’s Thompson got to first on a single.

“We failed at adjusting to the first pitcher, adjusting to her speed,” Allard said. “We didn’t get a runner on third base the whole game. Two hits. It wasn’t like she was overpowering, but she just was offspeed, and she would spin the ball. She was very effective and did a very good job against us.”

By the time the seventh inning came around, the Bears had four hits, while the Crimson could only come up with two. None of that mattered, since Brown finally strung some hits together to score the only run of the game.

Asay’s single, a steal by pinch runner Danielle Comissiong, and another single, this time from Sandra Mastrangelo, were enough to bring Comissiong around the bases.

Harvard couldn’t respond in the bottom of the inning, causing the team to lose its third straight.

—Staff writer Brian A. Campos can be reached at bcampos@fas.harvard.edu.