But to win against Dartmouth and take the division, the Crimson will have to combine all aspects of the sport along with the raw desire to reach the Championship Series.

“We’re going to have to have some dominant pitching, great defense, and timely hitting to win,” said Brown. “We have to play Harvard softball; we have to play our game.”

One thing going for Harvard in the first doubleheader is home-field advantage.

Because the Crimson needs only two wins to take the division, it could potentially lock up the needed victories before leaving Cambridge.

“It’s exciting that we have a chance to win it at home on Saturday,” Brown said. “The weather and the crowd would make for perfect softball.”

The wins and the trip to the Championship Series would be especially meaningful to the six seniors on the squad, who began their careers with an Ivy title.

“It would be a dream come true as a senior to go to the Championship again,” Black said. “We’ve been hungry for another opportunity since my freshman year.”

Even with the title in sight, the Harvard squad remains focused on the task at hand.

“Winning the North Division is what we’re concerned with right now,” Black said, “but after we do that, we’re going to look to the next step.”

“[The girls] just needs to continue to do what they has done all year,” Allard added. “They have to take one pitch at a time…and stay fired up.”

—Staff writer B. Marjorie Gullick can be reached at gullick@college.harvard.edu.