CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Lightning, hail and rain forced two weather delays and ultimately was the root of the suspension of Harvard Softball's home game vs. Penn on Saturday. Game 1 of a scheduled doubleheader was in the top of the fourth when the New England weather took center stage.
 
Harvard opened the afternoon with a five-spot in the bottom of the first inning. Lauren Bobowski led off with a single up the middle, moved to second on a wild pitch and was brought home on a Morgan Melito triple. Melito later scored when Teagan Shaw reached on an error, which loaded the bases for Trina Hoang, who cleared the bags with a double.
 
The Quakers added single runs in the second and third innings, cutting their deficit to three runs. In the bottom of the third, however, Hoang and Mackenzie Tyler opened with singles and a Kaitlin Lampson sacrifice bunt advanced the runners. Bobowski drew a walk to load the bases and a deep foul out by Melito scored Hoang from third. Allison Heffley then tripled to tack on two additional runs as Harvard led, 8-2.
 
As Penn stepped to the plate in the top of the fourth, lightning in the area forced the teams to the locker room. Following a 30-minute delay, Anna Reed induced a Sammy Fenton pop up only to have reports of lightning clear the field once again. Shortly after the teams left Soldiers Field, hail pelted the diamond with rain not far behind, leading to the suspension of the contest.
 
Harvard and Penn will reconvene on Sunday morning at 11 a.m. ET to complete Game 1, with one out in the top of the fourth inning. After the completion of the contest, the teams will play a single game to close out the weekend series. The third and final game is officially postponed at a day and time to be determined.