CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard softball opens its 2025 home schedule this weekend, hosting Columbia for a three-game Ivy League series on Friday, Mar. 28 and Saturday, Mar. 29. Action at Soldiers Field begins on Friday, Mar. 28 with a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m. The series finale between the Crimson and Lions on Saturday, Mar 29 is slated for a 12:30 p.m. start.

Admission to all regular season games at Soldiers Field are free of charge, as all three games this weekend will air live on ESPN+.

CRIMSON UPDATES:

• Harvard enters this weekend with a 11-7 record on the 2025 season.
• Last weekend saw the Crimson open its Ivy League schedule in the Garden State, dropping all three games against Princeton.
• Harvard's offense found a groove in the series finale against the Tigers. The Crimson collected eight runs in the contest with a season-high 14 hits. First-Year catcher Quinn Salazar-Stewart was a key component of the Crimson offense, tallying three hits and three RBIs, both career-highs.
• As a team, the Crimson is currently batting .298, as its 23 stolen bases are tied for second in the Ivy League this season.
• The Crimson boast one of the top pitching staffs in the conference this season, as Harvard's team earned run average of 3.79 is third in the Ivy League. Harvard is only of one three Ivy League sides with a team ERA below 4.00. With an opposing batting average of .241, Harvard leads the conference in that category as well.
• Head coach Jenny Rohn is in her second season at the helm of the Crimson softball program. Rohn holds a record of 38-24 during her Harvard tenure.

SCOUTING THE LIONS:

• Led by 11^th year head coach Jennifer Teague, Columbia is 9-10 on the 2025 season.
• The Lions started Ivy League action last weekend with a sweep of Penn at home, highlighted by two run-rule victories. Columbia fell in its midweek meeting against UAlbany, 8-3, yesterday.

SERIES HISTORY:

• Harvard and Columbia have met 56 times on the softball, with the first meeting dating back to the 2001 season.
• The Crimson leads the all-time series, 41-13, as it currently owns a 13 game winning streak against the Lions.
• In last season's series in the Big Apple, Harvard earned the sweep, highlighted by a five-inning no-hitter from Anna Reed '24 in the series opener.

BRINGING THE PAYNE:

• Junior infielder Finley Payne is on fire at the plate over the Crimson's last five contests.
• A native of Liberty Township, Ohio, Payne produced team-highs in batting average (.571), hits (8), total bases (12) and OPS (1.476) across the five game stretch against Georgetown, George Washington and Princeton. Payne also produced three multi-hit efforts in this span.
• In the series finale against Princeton, Payne tied the game at eight with a solo home run, her second homer of the season. Payne's 1.054 OPS for the season leads the Crimson.

HERE COMES THE SUN:

• The only student-athlete in conference history to win Ivy League Player and Rookie of the Year in the same season, sophomore infielder Sophie Sun is embarking on a remarkable encore season.
• With a .417 batting average, Sun is second in the Ivy League and leads Harvard in batting average. A native of Austin, Texas, Sun also leads the Crimson in hits (25) and runs (15).

DYNAMIC DUO:

• Junior pitchers Riley Flynn and Ryan Grace are excelling in the circle for the Crimson this season.
• The 2023 Ivy League Rookie of the Year, Flynn leads the Crimson with a 2.54 ERA, as she is only one of four pitchers in the Ivy League with an ERA below 3.00. A native of Phoenix, Arizona, Flynn is second in opposing batting average (.209) in the Ivy League as well.
• Grace is enjoying a breakout season, as her 3.42 ERA is fifth in the Ivy League and second on the team. A native of Sammamish, Washington, Grace leads the conference in opposing batting average (.194) as she is the only student-athlete in the conference with a mark below .200.

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 to 2024.
• 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 last season, Fitzpatrick leads the Crimson with nine doubles this season.
• Arrambide owns a 3.31 career ERA across 61 appearances and 186.1 innings pitched
• Grace holds the Ivy League leads in opposing batting average (.194) this season.

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 hits the road again next weekend, traveling to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for a three-game set against Penn on Saturday, Apr. 5 and Sunday, Apr. 6.

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