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Hoping to extend an eight game win streak, Harvard (20-10, 9-6 Ivy) entered its matchup against Brown (24-12, 9-6 Ivy) with momentum on its side. However, the team failed to fend off the Bears, dropping the series 1-2.
The loss comes after a successful 3-0 series at home against rivals Yale (19-24, 7-11 Ivy) last week. This time around, the team struggled to generate offense in the opening game of the weekend, losing 2-8. While the Crimson started its second game strong with four runs, ultimately the Bears were able to come back to secure a 6-11 victory, and the series win.
Despite the losses, Harvard returned on Sunday ready to battle, pulling out a 3-0 win with junior Riley Flynn looking unbeatable on the mound to end the weekend on a high.
Harvard 2, Brown 8
Despite promising chances in the first inning — with junior Finley Payne making it to prime scoring position at third base off a single and double from sophomore Sophie Sun — Brown managed to hold off Harvard’s offensive line up.
Instead, the Bears struck first in the third inning, capitalizing on a right field double and a ground ball bouncing off on first base to take the first lead of the game. One batter later, the team extended its lead to 0-3 with a hard hit just past Payne and a misfield by freshman Elena Weinseimer in right field.
Brown posed a threat towards the end of the inning with a runner on third, but sophomore Nicolette Hunter held steady at the mound as she has all season, closing out the inning without any more runs.
Weinseimer started the Crimson’s offensive momentum at the bottom of the third inning, drawing a walk from the pitcher before rounding her way to third base off a single from Payne.
Payne capitalized on her position, beating out the throw down on a steal to second as Sun hammered a triple. The play brought the pair home to close up the score, 2-3. Despite the Crimson’s promising position, the Bears yet again managed to stifle Harvard’s scoring efforts and brought home another run on two strikeouts from Hunter.
Although the Crimson has looked unbeatable all season, the team couldn’t hold off Brown who extended its lead even further in the fifth inning. A home run brought the score to 2-6, and despite a pitching change to Flynn, the Bears capitalized off an uncharacteristic error and misthrow from Sun for a 2-8 lead.
While Flynn held off Brown’s scoring chances for the rest of the game, Harvard couldn’t generate its typical offensive efforts, dropping the first game of the series and ending its eight game win streak.
Harvard 6, Brown 11
Just a few hours after a tough opening game, the Crimson returned to Soldiers Field re-energized, finding hits early in the second inning.
Senior Savannah Fitzpatrick got the bats swinging with a lead off line drive to left field before rounding her way home off a double from senior Maya Douglas. Senior Priyanka Kaul kept things moving with a right field single to allow Douglas to score and give Harvard an early 2-0 lead.
With the Bears back up to bat, Flynn was unhittable on the mound as the Crimson ended the inning in three consecutive outs. Carrying its offensive momentum from the inning before, singles from Payne and Sun set up freshman Alexa Muller perfectly for a two run RBI single and 4-0 lead.
However, Brown continued to fight back, finding the gaps in Harvard’s defense with well placed hits to score a run off a hard ground ball right past the diving glove of Payne. This was soon followed by two more runs off a double in between Fitzpatrick and junior right fielder Lael Ayala, closing up the score to 4-3.
Even as junior captain Ryan Grace was subbed onto the mound, the Bears managed to capitalize on atypical errors from the Crimson, scoring three runs to take a 4-6 lead off misthrows from Sun to first, and Kaul to home.
Brown carried this momentum into the fifth inning, scoring two again off a driven ball barely outside the reach of Payne as well another two from a hit hammered to the fences that Ayala couldn’t get home in time, widening its lead to 10-4.
Although a double from Muller brought home two more runs for the Crimson at their next at bat, the Bears managed to prevent a comeback, scoring one more run in the sixth inning to end the game 4-11 and secure the series win.
Harvard 3, Brown 0
After a night to rest and strategize, the Crimson entered Sunday’s competition with a point to prove.
While the first inning went scoreless, Muller got the ball rolling, keeping a level head and hitting a single to center field on a full count. A sacrifice bunt from Weinseimer moved Muller to second, which soon became third off a single from Douglas just between the second baseman and right fielder. Freshman Quinn Salazar-Stewart brought them both home, hammering the ball to the left field fence to give Harvard the early 2-0 lead.
Just one inning later, Muller continued her stellar hitting, keeping the offense moving with a single right past the pitcher, beating out the throw from the second baseman to get on base. Weinseimer kept the balls flying, driving the ball right over the third baseman to place the Crimson in prime scoring position for Douglas’s at bat. Douglas capitalized, finding the gap between right and center field for a double to bring home Muller for a 3-0 lead to end the inning.
Although Harvard struggled to generate more offense through the rest of the game, its defense returned to form, looking unshakeable despite the errors from the day before. With Flynn allowing only four hits through the next four innings, the Crimson successfully bounced back from Saturday’s tough competition, securing the 3-0 shutout to end its weekend on a high.
The results from the weekend now place Harvard in a three-way tie for third place beneath just Princeton (18-15, 12-3 Ivy) and Dartmouth (17-15, 10-5 Ivy). With just six more conference games and little more than two weeks until the Ivy League tournament, the Crimson will look to continue its strong offensive performances while locking down on the defensive errors that plagued them on Saturday.
However, before facing off against second place Dartmouth on the road, Harvard will look to test its skills across the Charles against Boston University (29-15, 10-2 Patriot) on Tuesday. The Terriers currently sit in second place in their own league, and will no doubt pose a challenge as the Crimson look to close out its season strong as it heads towards tournament play.
– Staff Writer Sofia Zhang can be reached at sofia.zhang@thecrimson.com.
