FORT MYERS, Fla.- Harvard softball got clipped by Fordham, 3-2, and Southern Illinois, 5-4, on day two of competition in the Sunshine State.

The Crimson jumped on Fordham early in game one. In the top of the first inning, first-year Allison Heffley and sophomore Megan Welsh hit back-to-back singles. Heffley crossed the plate from a wild pitch to give Harvard the 1-0 lead.

The Crimson answered in the sixth with a run after the Rams took the 2-1 lead in the fourth. Heffley hit a ground ball to the shortstop and reached on an error. Sophomore Mackenzie Tyler came on to pinch run and scored the tying run when Morgan Melito hit a single up the middle to make it 2-2.

A late surge from Fordham lifted them past Harvard making the final 3-2.

After going down three runs in the top of the first to Southern Illinois, Harvard rallied to cut the lead to 3-2 in the bottom of the first inning. Megan Welsh reached on a fielder's choice and Morgan Melito reached on a single. Teagan Shaw brought Welsh and Melito home with a single through the right side to trim the lead to just one run at 3-2.

In the bottom of the second Mackenzie Tyler and Lauren Bobowski had back-to-back singles to lead off the inning. Allison Heffley drove them in with a double down the right field line to give Harvard the 4-3 lead. A fifth inning two-run home run gave Southern Illinois the win over the Crimson, 5-4.

Harvard Highlights

• First-year Allison Heffley, sophomore Morgan Melito and sophomore Megan Welsh extended their hit streaks to four games with hits against Fordham and Southern Illinois.
• Sophomore Mackenzie Tyler scored her second run in two days as a pinch runner to tie the game at 2-2 against Fordham.
• Harvard rallied from down three to score four straight unanswered runs against Southern Illinois.
• Heffley and sophomore Teagan Shaw had game high two RBIs against Southern Illinois.

Up Next
The Crimson finishes off its weekend in Florida with a game on Sunday against the host Florida Gulf Coast.