PRINCETON 1, HARVARD 0

Despite sophomore lefthander Katie Duncan and the Crimson defense’s success at stranding Princeton on the basepaths, Harvard was unable to get its offense going in a narrow walk-off defeat.

Entering the final frame, the Crimson looked to draw first blood following six innings of staunch pitching and defense from both sides. Hogan led off by punching a single into left field, and two outs later Kaplan advanced Hogan to second with another single. However, Tigers’ pitcher Claire Klausner got out of the inning by inducing a flyout to center field.

After a scoreless top of the seventh, three outs separated Duncan and Harvard from taking the first game of the playoff series to extra innings. The Crimson had worked out of tight situations all game, and the bottom of the seventh was yet another jam.

Second baseman Haley Hineman led off with a single, and third baseman Alex Viscusi drew a walk. A flyout to center marked the first out of the inning, but right fielder Kylee Pierce reached on a fielder’s choice to load up the bases for Princeton’s third hitter.

This time, Harvard was unable to escape the jam. Tigers shortstop Allison Harvey singled into right field to bring home Hineman with the game-winning run, and Princeton took game one of the best-of-three series.

“Pitchers for both teams had very good performances, and they just came up with the timely hit when they needed to,” Lockhart said.

Pitching was clearly the focus of this low-scoring affair. Duncan threw 6.1 innings, struck out five, and only allowed one run. On the Tigers side, Klausner spun a complete game, allowing six hits and three walks while striking out eight.

The Crimson also had several key defensive innings that allowed it to mitigate the threat of seven hits and six walks from Princeton. In the bottom of the first with runners on first and second and two down, Grant singled up the middle, and it seemed all but certain the Tigers would strike first. However, sophomore center fielder Kaitlyn Schiffhauer’s throw home beat the runner to keep Princeton off the scoreboard.

“Katie did a really good job hitting her spots on the mound and getting them to hit into outs,” Lockhart said. “When they did get hits and get on base, our defense was really strong and made the plays we needed to hold them throughout the game.”

Aside from the top of the seventh, Harvard had other opportunities to get to Klausner and put runs on the board. Rich and sophomore catcher Elizabeth Shively hit leadoff doubles in the first and fifth innings, respectively, but each time the Crimson left runners in scoring position.

“We struggled with timely hitting,” Rich said. “We left 9 people on base so the problem wasn't getting on base, it was hitting those runners in. We hit the ball well the first game, just not at the right times.”

—Staff writer Jack Stockless can be reached at jack.stockless@thecrimson.com.