When the Harvard softball team took the lead in the top of the ninth, it was three outs away from ending the weekend on a positive note.

After dropping the first game of a two-game series at Syracuse (11-14), the Crimson (5-12) went into the bottom of the inning looking to hold the Orange scoreless and emerge with the win. But a leadoff walk put the tying runner on base, and a sacrifice fly sent the game into the tenth.

Harvard was held scoreless in the top of the tenth, and Syracuse made the Crimson pay in its half of the inning, scoring to put the Orange on top and sweep the weekend.

“We did everything possible to lose that game,” Harvard coach Jenny Allard said. “We had no desire to win that game. We need to step up with our energy.”

The Crimson relied on freshman pitcher Morgan Groom for the bulk of the work. After starting the first game and throwing four-and-a-third innings, Groom pitched five-and-two-thirds in relief of sophomore Gabrielle Ruiz.

On the weekend, Groom gave up seven earned runs on five hits. She struck out twelve batters and allowed nine walks.

“She shouldered the work this weekend, and when her stuff was in the zone she was very, very effective,” Allard said. “She threw too many balls and had too many walks; that was our big mistake on the weekend. We just need to challenge the hitters more.”

SYRACUSE 5, HARVARD 4

The Orange jumped out to an early lead with two runs in the first and held the lead until the fifth, but the Crimson continued to chip away.

“We need to come out from the beginning with intensity and a sense of urgency,” said senior designated hitter Jessica Ferri. “I know in a lot of our games we’ve had some rough starts. If we clean up the early innings, hopefully they won’t come back to bite us late in games.”

Harvard added a run in the top of the third after sophomore left fielder Andrea Del Conte reached on an error and was brought home when co-captain right fielder Shelbi Olson singled through the right side.

Syracuse answered with a run of its own in the bottom of the fifth on a Morgan Dandin solo home run, and a two run homer by Ferri brought the score to a tie.

Freshman centerfielder Zoe Galindo continued the homerun derby with a go-ahead jack in the ninth, but the Orange brought it to a tie and scored the winning run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the tenth.

The Crimson faced two different pitchers and outhit Syracuse, 11-4, with no strikeouts.

“Any loss is going to be disappointing,” Ferri said. “A loss where we were ahead and lost that lead is especially tough. It’s just a learning experience, and it builds character.”