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Finley Payne celebrates against Princeton
6
Princeton PRIN 15-10, 4-3 Ivy
14
Winner Harvard HARV 13-12, 4-5 Ivy
Princeton PRIN
15-10, 4-3 Ivy
6
Final
14
Harvard HARV
13-12, 4-5 Ivy
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 R H E
Princeton PRIN 2 4 0 0 0 0 6 7 4
Harvard HARV 1 4 0 5 2 2 14 18 1

W: Hunter, Nicolette (6-3) L: Wright, Brielle (1-2)

Game Recap: Softball |

Softball Completes Thrilling Comeback Against Princeton in Series Opener

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard softball opened a key series against Princeton with a 14-6 run-rule victory against the Tigers. After Princeton jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the second inning, the Crimson rallied and scored 13 unanswered runs to upend the Tigers in the series opener.

It was a total team effort at the plate for the Crimson, as six different student-athletes earned multi-hit performances against Princeton. Four different hitters drove in two runs across the six-inning contest.

In the circle, first-year Nicolette Hunter was critical in the victory, coming out of the bullpen to hold the Tigers scoreless across 3.1 innings of work with four strikeouts.
HOW IT HAPPENED:

Princeton (15-10, 4-3 Ivy League) took the initial lead in the top of the first inning. After a leadoff double, the Tigers tallied the opening run with an RBI-single, 1-0. The visitors doubled their lead with on a fielder's choice, 2-0.

The Crimson (13-12, 4-5) responded immediately, answering with a run of its own in the bottom of the first inning. In her first at-bat, senior outfielder Lauren Bobowski worked a walk on five pitches. After senior infielder Madi Mays reached safely on a fielder's choice, sophomore infielder Finley Payne fired a line drive RBI-single to center field, cutting the Princeton lead, 2-1.

The back-and-forth scoring continued in the second inning, as Princeton extended its lead in the second inning. With the bases loaded, the Tigers hit an RBI-triple to the wall in right field, scoring three runs, 5-1. The next at-bat saw Princeton clear the bases with a sacrifice fly, 6-1.

Four straight hits started Harvard's half of the second inning, as junior infielder Priyanka Kaul roped a leadoff double to shallow right field, followed by a single from sophomore outfielder Lael Ayala. With runners on the corners, Bobowski slapped the second pitch of her at-bat for an RBI-single, reducing Princeton's lead, 6-2. In the next at-bat, first-year infielder Sophie Sun crushed a pitch to the corner in right field, clearing the base with a two-run RBI double, 6-4. The Crimson found its fourth run of the frame in an RBI-single from junior outfielder Savannah Fitzpatrick, making it a one-run ball game, 6-5.
Coming out of the bullpen, Hunter manufactured a key moment in the circle. With two outs and the bases loaded in third, Hunter caught the Princeton batter looking, ending the half inning with a strikeout, and posting the first scoreless frame of the series opener.

The Crimson took its first lead of the game, exploding for five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. On a 2-0 count, Sun found the gap in the Princeton infield for a leadoff single. After Mays reached on an error, first-year infielder Megan Davies took over on the base paths as a pinch runner. Fitzpatrick pulled Harvard even on the next-bat with her second RBI-single of the afternoon, 6-6. Savvy base running provided Harvard its first lead of the day, as the Crimson executed a successful double steal to pull ahead, 7-6.

Later on in the fourth inning, Harvard doubled its lead with an RBI-double from Payne, 8-6. Two more runs came across the plate in the fourth, as Kaul recorded an RBI-single, with the fifth and final run scoring on a Princeton fielding error, 10-6.
After another shutout inning from Hunter, the Crimson added two more runs in the fifth inning. With two runners on and one out, junior designated player Maya Douglas roped a ball to the gap in left field for a two-run RBI-double, 12-6.  

The sixth inning saw Harvard end the contest via the run rule with two more runs. After Kaul's third hit of the day, Bobowski picked up her second RBI against the Tigers, scoring Kaul with a single, 13-6. Sun followed the RBI knock from Bobowski with a hit, as Mays secured Harvard's 13th win of the year with an RBI-single to shallow center field, 14-6.

The Crimson finished with 14 runs on 17 hits, both single-game highs this season. Four different Harvard student-athlete drove in two runs, as Sun and Kaul each finished with three hits at the dish. Hunter earned her sixth win of the season, pitching 3.1 scoreless innings with four strikeouts while allowing two hits.

HARVARD HIGHLIGHTS:
  • The Crimson recorded single-game season highs in runs scored (14) and hits (17) in the series opening victory against Princeton.
  • Six different Harvard hitters recorded multi-hit efforts, while four different student-athletes produced two RBIs.
  • Kaul and Sun each produced a team-high three hits in the win, a new career high for Kaul as Sun tallies three hits in a game for the third time this season.
UP NEXT:

The Crimson and Tigers conclude the series on Sunday, Apr. 7, with two games starting at 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. Harvard fans can catch game one of the twinbill live on NESN, while both contests will also stream live on ESPN+.

For complete coverage of Harvard Softball, follow the team on Twitter (@HarvardSB) and Instagram (@harvardsb).
 
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