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The Harvard softball team (16-13, 6-2 Ivy) swept both Penn (13-16, 2-6) and Columbia (7-24, 2-6) this weekend at Soldiers Field as the squad solidified its second-place spot in the Ivy League.

“This weekend was really crucial after going 2-2 [against Princeton and Cornell] in the first weekend, we really wanted to gain some ground back,” co-captain Zoe Galindo said.

The weekend victories put the Crimson in a good position as it looks toward challenging Dartmouth for the top spot.

“We’re really going to have to keep pace with Dartmouth by winning every game we can,” Galindo said. “It’s going to be a fight, but as long as we focus on ourselves and focus on winning every game we have ahead of us. . . we’ll be able to get to the [No.1] spot.”

HARVARD 10, PENN 2

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, Harvard scored double-digit runs for the second straight game to close out the weekend with a four-game sweep.

Sophomore Maddy Kaplan and freshman infielder Rhianna Rich led the team with two runs, two hits, and two runs batted in each.

“Rhianna Rich, Maddy Kaplan, and Giana Panariello all came up big in big situations,” rookie center Elizabeth Shively. “Honestly, offensively everybody has been hitting really well. I couldn’t tell you one person that did so much better than anybody else. It was a total team effort.”

A solo home run by senior outfielder Haley Davis and three additional runs gave the Crimson a 4-0 advantage in the bottom of the third. After Penn answered with two runs in the top of the fourth inning, Harvard added six insurance runs on three doubles and a single in the bottom frame.

Junior righthander Taylor Cabe limited the Quakers to two runs in the five-inning contest, striking out 4 batters and recording her 10th win of the season.

HARVARD 11, PENN 10

The front end of the doubleheader Saturday was the biggest challenge for the Crimson this weekend, as the game extended to extra innings.

Galindo and Rich each drove in runs as they got the game rolling in the bottom of the second inning.

After Penn plated five runs in the top of the fourth, Harvard quickly responded to knot the score in its half of the inning.