HANOVER, N.H. – Trailing 2-1 entering the seventh inning at Dartmouth Softball Park, Harvard softball showcased its resilience, coming from behind to defeat the Big Green in extra innings in the series opener, 10-2.
Eight of the Crimson's 10 runs arrived in the eighth inning, as eight different Crimson drove in at least one run. First-year infielder
Alexa Muller was sensational at the plate, going a perfect four-for-four with one RBI. Sophomore
Sophie Sun and first-year catcher
Quinn Salazar-Stewart each drove in a pair of runs.
In the circle, sophomore
Nicolette Hunter earned the win, allowing zero earned runs with two strikeouts and only one walk.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Harvard's (21-11, 10-6 Ivy League) bats wasted no time in the top of the first inning, scoring the opening run. With two outs, a patient approach at the dish from Sun paid off, as she reached with a walk. Down 0-2 in the count, Muller crushed a pitch to the gap in left center, scoring Sun from first base with an RBI-double.
In the bottom of the first, Dartmouth (17-16, 10-6) evened the score with a solo home run to left field, 1-1.
After the exchange of runs in the first, both pitching staffs found their footing, as the contest was even at one each entering the sixth inning. After posting five shutout innings against Boston University in the midweek contest, Hunter entered the circle out of the bullpen in the third inning, holding the hosts at bay for three frames.
In the sixth, Dartmouth took its first lead of the day with a close play at the plate, 2-1.
The Crimson immediately answered, tying it up in the top of the seventh. Senior designated player
Priyanka Kaul sparked the rally with a leadoff walk. After a sacrifice bunt from Salazar-Stewart
, sophomore outfielder
Audrey Szollosi leveled the score at two, sending a shot past the Big Green's centerfielder for an RBI-triple.
With two Big Green runners in scoring position in the bottom of the seventh, Hunter stood strong, forcing a groundout to send the series opener against Dartmouth to extra innings.
Harvard kept rolling in the eighth inning, winning the game with eight runs in the frame. Leadoff hits from Sun and Muller put two runners in scoring position for the Crimson with no outs. From there, four straight walks put Harvard up three runs, 5-2. After a Big Green pitching change, Salazar-Stewart fired off a shot down the left field line, bringing across two more runs, 7-2.
From there, RBIs from Sun and senior outfielder
Savannah Fitzpatrick scored three more runs, as the Crimson secured the victory in the series opener.
Harvard scored 10 runs on 10 hits, as Muller led the way with a perfect four-for-four day at the plate. Eight different Crimson recorded at least one RBI, as Muller and Salazar-Stewart each drove in two.
HARVARD HIGHLIGHTS:
- With the win, the Crimson is now a perfect 3-0 in extra innings contests.
- Harvard scores double-digit runs against an Ivy League foe for the third time this season.
- Muller is now tied with junior infielder Finley Payne for most hits in a game this season with four.
- The eight runs in the eighth inning are the most for the Crimson in a single frame this season.
- Harvard walked nine times against the Big Green this afternoon, setting another single-game season high.
- With two hits in Hanover, Sun now has 100 hits in her Crimson career.
UP NEXT:
Harvard and Dartmouth wrap the series on Sunday, Apr. 27 with a doubleheader starting at 11:30 a.m. Both games will air live on ESPN+.
For complete coverage of Harvard Softball, follow the team on Twitter (@HarvardSB) and Instagram (@harvardsb).
