Harvard Softball Struggles in New York, Goes Winless Against St. John’s and Army | Sports

The first inning flew by as both teams logged three outs in three hitters to open up play. However, while the Crimson (6-11-1) went scoreless in the top of the second inning, Army (10-14) quickly found its offensive form. Despite two early outs, a hit by pitch gave the Black Knights the break they needed to get two more hits and bring a runner home for a 1-0 lead.

Army carried its momentum to the third period, where a double to open the inning allowed an RBI single to extend the lead to 2-0. Nevertheless, Harvard bounced back, with Sun and freshman third baseman Hannah Ziecik getting on base with singles. The pair continued to steal their way around the diamond, bringing Sun home and putting the Crimson on the board.

This time, it was Harvard with the momentum, shutting down the Black Knights’ offense with three groundouts, and opening up hitting with a single from Hunter. The slap-hitting junior captain Audrey Szollosi also made it on base, but a groundout ended the inning. Despite the close matchup, Army broke through in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Hunter again opened the inning with two outs, but a double followed by an infielding error gave Army another run. From there, a triple and a single brought home two more runs for the Black Knights, opening up the score to 5-1. Despite a promising offensive last inning, the Crimson couldn’t close out the rally, falling to Army in the opening match of the weekend.

Harvard returned to the field just a couple of hours later to face off against St. John’s (19-8, 1-2 EAST). The opening innings of the matchup were a battle of the pitchers, as both teams went scoreless going into the fourth inning. It was the Crimson who struck first in this matchup, with Sun and Ziecik again making their way into scoring positions. A sacrifice fly from Hunter then brought Sun home, and gave Harvard its first lead of the weekend.

The Red Storm responded just as fast, capitalizing on a walk to make it around the bases, and tie up the game. Despite having another runner sitting on third base, a strikeout from senior captain Ryan Grace closed out the inning with a full count. The Crimson fought back in turn, with junior captain Megan Davies opening up the offense with a single. She soon made her way around to third, where a sacrifice fly from senior second baseman Finley Payne brought Davies home to restore the one-run lead.

The game remained close as St. John’s got runners on to open the bottom of the fifth inning. However, a double play at first cleared the bases. The Red Storm still managed to break through with a home run, again knotting up the score.

While the Crimson tried to restore its lead, St. John’s quickly ended the top of the sixth with three outs in four hitters. The Red Storm carried its offensive momentum with a full count triple, bringing the runner home with an RBI single to take the 3-2 lead, and ending Harvard’s chances at a win with three strikeouts.

Looking to take home the win in the tightly contested matchup, Harvard entered the second day of competition with determination. That much was clear as Szollosi opened up the game with a single, soon followed by a Sun single. An error allowed Payne to get bases loaded for the Crimson. However, the Red Storm locked it down on the mound, again getting three strikeouts in three batters to keep Harvard from getting on the board.

It was instead St. John’s who struck first, getting a run in at the bottom of the first inning, before running away with it, chipping away at Harvard’s defense to score four more runs in the second inning. Both teams shut the door through the fifth inning as the game went scoreless until Szollosi again kick-started the offense with a single. Sun made it on base with a walk, and despite batting with two outs on the board, Hunter came in clutch with a double to bring home two runs.

Again, the Red Storm bit back, capitalizing on walks to restore its five-run lead, 7-2. The Crimson continued to close the gap, with freshman left fielder Sheila Forbes coming home on an RBI single from Sun. Shutting down St. John’s offense, Harvard attempted another last-inning rally to make up the four runs. While sophomore catcher Quinn Salazar-Stewart brought down the lead to three, the Red Storm held off the Crimson, pulling out a 7-4 victory.

With one final matchup to end the weekend, it was again Army who came out swinging, getting runners on base and scoring a two-run homer to take an early 3-0 lead. Another home run just one inning later opened up the score further, but Sun responded with a home run of her own to close down the score 4-2.

The scoring did not end as the game continued into the fourth inning, with the Black Knights logging their third home run in four innings to bring home two more runs, 6-2. Harvard continued to chip away at the score, with Salazar-Stewart getting on base and working her way around the diamond to score on an RBI single from Sun.

However, Army didn’t let up, making contact and stealing bases to score five more runs in the top of the fifth inning. While the Crimson continued to fight, bringing home another runner in its turn at bat to close down the score to 11-4, two more home runs from the Black Knights brought the score to 14-4, ending the game in six innings.

Although Harvard couldn’t find a way to break through this weekend, the team showed strong performances across the field from experienced and new players alike. With just one more week before Ivy League play begins, the Crimson will travel to Fairfield, Conn. for a doubleheader against Sacred Heart on Wednesday, March 18, at 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. EDT.