Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – A pair of efficient and exciting offensive displays pushed Harvard softball to a pair of victories against Saint Joseph's and Kent State on the opening day of the 2025 Mizuno Showdown.
The first game saw the Crimson showcase its power at the dish, as sophomore infielder
Sophie Sun and senior infielder
Priyanka Kaul hit key home runs in Harvard's 5-4 walk off win against Saint Joseph's. The Crimson's leader in RBIs this season with six, first-year catcher
Quinn Salazar-Stewart pushed Harvard over the edge with a game-winning RBI-single in the bottom of the seventh.
Harvard ended the day with a back-and-forth win against Kent State. Another Crimson hit a career milestone, as sophomore outfielder
Audrey Szollosi hit her first career home run, taking down Kent State, 9-6.
HOW IT HAPPENED IN GAME ONE:
After holding Saint Joseph's (6-5, 0-0 Atlantic 10) scoreless in the top of the first, Harvard (5-1, 0-0 Ivy League) grabbed a 2-0 lead in its half of the opening frame. A leadoff walk and a stolen base from Szollosi set up a scoring opportunity for Sun. The defending Ivy League Player of the Year didn't disappoint, crushing a ball to center field for a 2-0 lead.
Saint Joseph's tallied its first run of the day in the third inning on a sacrifice fly in the third inning and then took its first lead in the fifth on a two-run RBI double, 3-2. The Crimson battled back in its half of the fifth, as first-year outfielder
Elena Weinseimer leveled the score with a sacrifice fly.
Harvard retook the lead an inning later. With one out and a 0-1 count, Kaul launched a shot towards left field, putting the Crimson back in front with the first home run of her collegiate career.
The back-and-forth scoring continued in a dramatic seventh inning. The Hawks worked back-to-back walks with one out in the top of the frame, tying the game again with a sacrifice fly, 4-4.
The Crimson produced its first walk-off win of the year in the bottom of the seventh. For the third time in the contest, Szollosi started an inning with a walk. After a sacrifice bunt from senior outfielder
Savannah Fitzpatrick, Salazar-Stewart send a single towards center field for the game-winning RBI, 5-4.
Harvard ended the 5-4 win against with seven hits, as four different Crimson drove in runs. Pitching 2.1 innings in relief, junior
Ryan Grace earned the win in the circle.
HOW IT HAPPENED IN GAME TWO:
The first three innings of the meeting between Harvard and Kent State (3-12, 0-0 Mid-American) saw the pitching staffs shine. In her first collegiate start, first-year
Olivia Torres was superb, holding the Golden Flashes scoreless across for three straight innings.
Harvard's offense opened the scoring in the bottom of the third inning. With Weinseimer on base after a walk, Szollosi drilled a shot to deep left for her first career home run, putting the Crimson on top, 2-0. One of the heroes from the opening game against Saint Joseph's, Salazar-Stewart added another run with a line-drive RBI-single.
The following inning saw the Golden Flashes even the score, 3-3.
As they've done all day, the Crimson bats battled back, tallying three runs in the fifth. Consecutive hits from Szollosi and Fitzpatrick set the table for Sun, as the sophomore fired Harvard into the lead with an RBI-single, 4-3. A wild pitch and a Golden Flash fielding error allowed the Crimson to record two more runs.
In the sixth inning, Harvard's offense capitalized on another opportunity, adding on three runs off a Kent State fielding error in the outfield, 9-3. Kent State scored three runs in the seventh, but junior
Riley Flynn shut the door with a strikeout to earn her save.
HARVARD HIGHLIGHTS:
- Harvard hit multiple home runs in a game for the first time this season in the 5-4 win against Saint Joseph's.
- A native of Plainsboro, N.J., Kaul hit the first home run of her collegiate career against Saint Joseph's.
- In the win against Kent State, Szollosi launched the first home run of her Crimson tenure.
- Six different Crimson recorded RBIs across the wins against the Golden Flashes and Hawks.
- The Crimson tallied nine runs against Kent State, a new season high.
UP NEXT:
The Crimson continue the 2025 Mizuno Showdown tomorrow afternoon at Anderson Softball Stadium, taking on the tournament host North Carolina at 3:00 p.m., followed by a rematch with Saint Joseph's at 5:30 p.m. Crimson fans can catch all the action from the game against the Tar Heels live on ACC Network Extra.
For complete coverage of Harvard Softball, follow the team on Twitter (@HarvardSB) and Instagram (@harvardsb).
