CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – After earning three key Ivy League victories on the road against Penn last weekend, Harvard softball returns to Soldiers Field on Friday, Apr. 11 and Sunday, Apr. 13 to hose Yale for another slate of conference contests. The series begins on Friday, Apr. 11 at 4 p.m., as the series between the Crimson and Bulldogs concludes on Sunday, Apr. 13 with a doubleheader starting at 12:30 p.m.

Admission to all games at Soldiers Field this weekend is free of charge. Crimson fans can stream all the action from Cambridge live on ESPN+.

CRIMSON UPDATES:

• Harvard enters the Yale series with a 16-8 record, sitting in third place in the Ivy League standings with a 5-4 mark in conference play. The Crimson boast the best winning percentage (.667) in the Ivy League.
• In the City of Brotherly Love last week, Harvard earned its first sweep in conference play, taking all three games against Penn.
• Across the series, Harvard shined on both sides of the ball, outscoring the Quakers, 18-3.
• The series opener saw Harvard outlast Penn, 3-1, as home runs from sophomore infielder Sophie Sun and junior infielder Finley Payne made the difference.
• Harvard earned the series win after taking down the hosts 4-1 in game two. Tied at one entering the sixth inning, RBIs from seniors Priyanka Kaul and Savannah Fitzpatrick put the Crimson over the top.
• An offensive explosion capitalized the Crimson's sweep of the Quakers in the series finale, as Harvard picked up its second run-rule win of the year with an 11-1 victory. Four different Crimson hit home runs, as first-year infielder Alexa Muller hit her first career home run in the sixth inning.
• Sophomore pitcher Nicolette Hunter started all three games in the circle for the Crimson, as she finished the weekend with a 1.24 ERA across 11.1 innings, striking out 10 batters in the process.
• As a team, Harvard ranks second in both batting average (.314) and earned run average (3.35).
• Harvard is capitalizing on fast starts this season, owning a 14-2 record when it scores first.
• Head coach Jenny Rohn is in her second season at the helm of the Crimson softball program. A former Harvard assistant coach, Rohn is 43-25 in her Harvard tenure and 61-54 across her three-year head coaching career.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS:

• Yale is 18-19 this season, as the Bulldogs are sixth in the Ivy League standings with a 6-6 mark in conference play. Head coach Laura Ricciardone '14 is in her third season with Yale. Ricciardone was a four-time All-Ivy League honoree during her playing career with Harvard.
• The Bulldogs hosted Columbia in its last Ivy League series, as Yale dropped the first two games before taking the series finale, 6-5. In their last outing, the Bulldogs fell against Fairfield, 2-1, on Wednesday.

SERIES HISTORY:

• One of the longest running series in conference history, Harvard and Yale have met 109 times on the softball diamond.
• The Crimson lead the all-time series, 82-27, as Harvard is 6-4 across the last ten meetings between the two programs.
• Harvard and Yale met four times in 2024. The Bulldogs took all three games in the regular season series in New Haven, Connecticut, as the Crimson took down Yale in the opening game of the 2024 Ivy League Tournament in an extra-innings thriller, 12-4.

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, Sun is orchestrating a remarkable encore season.
• A National Fastpitch Coaches Association Northeast All-Region honoree in 2024, Sun ranks in the top-five in the Ivy League in batting average (.415), slugging percentage (.671), hits (34) and total bases (55).  
• Sun is only one of three student-athletes in the Ivy League to own a batting average at or above .400.
• Across 215 career at-bats, Sun owns a .419 batting average, making her the all-time program leader in batting average.

HUNTING SEASON:

• An All-Ivy League honorable mention last season, Hunter is emerging as one of the top pitching talents in the Ivy League this year.
• A native of Camarillo, California, Hunter is second in earned run average (2.39) and sixth in opposing batting average (.256) this season.
• Hunter has started five straight games for the Crimson, allowing only three earned runs with 19 strikeouts.

BRINGING THE PAYNE:

• Payne is enjoying one of the best years of her collegiate career in 2025.
• A native of Liberty Township, Ohio, Payne is second on the team with career-bests in batting average (.369), OPS (1.069) and home runs (4).
• Her four hits against Columbia earlier this season are the most for a Crimson in a single-game in 2025.

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS:

• The Crimson pitching staff is filled with talent this year, boasting a steady rotation of strong arms.
• Three of Harvard's student-athletes rank in the top-five in ERA in the Ivy League this season. Hunter is second (2.39) while juniors Riley Flynn (2.56) and Ryan Grace (3.74) are third and fifth, respectively.
• Flynn currently leads the Ancient Eight in opposing batting average (.213) as Grace is third (.223).
• Harvard is the only program in the Ivy League to have pitchers with ERAs below 3.00.
• As a team, the Crimson is second in the Ivy League in both ERA (3.35) and opposing batting average (.241), as Harvard is also third in strikeouts with 122.

WE BRING THE BOOM:

• Extra base hits have been the name of the game for the Crimson in its recent contests.
• Harvard has it at least one home run in four-straight contests, dating back to its 12-0 run-rule win against Columbia on March, 29^th. This is matches the Crimson's longest home run streak since 2019, when Harvard hit a home run in four consecutive contests.
• In the Penn series, extra base hits drove in 13 of the Crimson's 18 runs.

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 conference play from 2018 to 2024.
• In that time span, the Crimson is the only team in the Ivy League to not drop double-digit conference 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:

• Senior Katie Arrambide, Fitzpatrick and Grace are Harvard's team captains this season.
• An All-Ivy League First Team selection in 2024, Fitzpatrick leads the Crimson in doubles with nine.
• Across 186.1 innings of work in her collegiate career, Arrambide owns a 3.31 ERA.
• Grace is enjoying a breakout season in the circle, leading the Ivy League in saves (2) and rankings third in opposing batting average (.223).

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 non-conference action on Tuesday, Apr. 15, welcoming intrastate foe Merrimack to Soldiers Field for a 3:30 p.m. first pitch. The contest between the Crimson and Warriors will air live on NESN and ESPN+.

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