CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard softball begins Ivy League play this weekend in the Garden State with a pivotal three-game slate against Princeton.

The highly anticipated rematch of the 2024 Ivy League Tournament Championship takes place on Saturday, Mar. 22 and Sunday, Mar. 23. The doubleheader on Saturday between the Crimson and Tigers starts at 12:30 p.m., as the series finale on Sunday also starts at 12:30 p.m. Harvard fans can watch all three contests live on ESPN+.

CRIMSON UPDATES:

• Harvard starts Ivy League action with an 11-4 record, as its .733 winning percentage is the top mark in the conference. The Crimson also bring a six-game winning streak to Princeton this weekend.
• In two midweek contests, the Crimson posted back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 2017, as Harvard earned shutouts in victories at Georgetown and George Washington.
• On Tuesday, the Crimson outlasted Georgetown, 2-0, as junior Riley Flynn and sophomore Nicolette Hunter combined for Harvard's first shutout of the year.
• Harvard followed a similar script against George Washington, as three different Crimson pitchers played a role in the 1-0 victory.
• Offensively, junior infielder Finley Payne led the way in the nation's capital, collecting three hits and the game-winning RBI against the Revolutionaries.
• Against Georgetown and George Washington, Harvard's pitching staff collected 12 strikeouts, as the Crimson offense only struck out twice in 54 at-bats.
• This season, Harvard is capitalizing on fast starts, as the Crimson is 10-1 when scoring first and 5-1 when scoring in the first inning.
• Jenny Rohn is in her second season as the head coach of the Crimson, as she owns a 38-21 record in Cambridge.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS:

• Princeton is 5-12 this season, as the Tigers also start their Ivy League schedule this weekend.
• 1-4 over its last contests, Princeton took the field last weekend at the Missouri tournament, falling to South Dakota State, Missouri and Michigan and earning a win against Quinnipiac.

SERIES HISTORY:

• The premier rivalry in Ivy League softball, Princeton and Harvard have met 99 times on the softball field, as the Tigers lead the all-time series, 58-41.
• Last season saw the Crimson and Tigers faceoff six times between a regular season series in Cambridge and the 2024 Ivy League Tournament.
• At Soldiers Field, Harvard won the regular season series, 2-1, highlighted by a 14-6 Crimson comeback win in the opener.
• The 2024 Ivy League Tournament saw Princeton take two-out-of-three against Harvard to win the title.

HERE COMES THE SUN:

• One of the nation's top talents at the plate, sophomore infielder Sophie Sun is orchestrating a stellar encore campaign.
• The only student-athlete in Ivy League history to win Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year in the same season, Sun leads the conference in batting average (.490) and ranks in the top-five in slugging percentage (.706), hits (25), on-base percentage (.509) and runs scored (15).
• A native of Austin, Texas, Sun earned Ivy League Player of the Week on Monday after posting a .667 batting average with 10 hits, 15 total bases, five RBIs and a 1.000 slugging percentage in four games in California.

FANTASTIC FLYNN:

• The 2023 Ivy League Rookie of the Year, Flynn is one of the top arms in a deep Crimson pitching staff.
• Across her last three starts, Flynn owns a stellar 0.89 earned run average across 15.2 innings, collecting 18 strikeouts while only allowing 11 hits and two runs.
• Flynn currently ranks in the top-five in the Ivy League in earned run average (1.85), opposing batting average (.202) and runs allowed (12).

RYAN'S READY:

• Junior pitcher Ryan Grace is lights out in the circle so far this season.
• A native of Sammamish, Washington, Grace leads the Ivy League in opposing batting average (.179) and is tied for the lead in saves with two.
• Grace's 2.86 ERA is second on the team and is fourth in the Ivy League.

LIGHTS OUT:

• Harvard owns one of the best pitching staffs in the Ivy League.
• The Crimson are working on an impressive streak in the circle, shutting out its opponents over the last 16 innings.
• In the Ivy League, Harvard is second in team ERA (3.01).

IVY EXCELLENCE:

• Over the last five full seasons, Harvard is one of the top softball programs in the Ivy League, owning a league-best 75-30 record in Ivy League action from 2018-2025.
• In that time span, the Crimson is only team in the conference to not drop double-digit games in a single-season.
• Harvard has won back-to-back Ivy League regular season titles, as it won the inaugural Ivy League Tournament in Princeton in 2023.

CAPTAINING THE CRIMSON:

• Seniors Savannah Fitzpatrick, Katie Arrambide, and Grace are Harvard's team captains this season.
• An All-Ivy League First Team selection, Fitzpatrick is fourth on the team in hits (14) and RBIs (7) this season.
• Arrambide owns a 3.24 career ERA across 60 appearances and 186.0 innings pitched.
• Grace owns the Ivy League leads in opposing batting average (.179) and saves (2).

CRIMSON ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY:

• Harvard softball has found and recruited talent from all across the United States.
• The Crimson hail from 13 different states, including Illinois, Arizona, New Jersey, Hawaii, Washington, Missouri, Ohio, Virginia, California, Texas, Georgia, Florida and North Carolina.

UP NEXT:

Harvard returns to Cambridge for the home opener on Saturday, Mar. 29 and Sunday, Mar. 30, as the Crimson welcome Columbia to Soldiers Field. Admission to all regular season contests are free of charge and all three games against Columbia will air live on ESPN+.

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