CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard softball heads into the 2025 Ivy League Tournament with momentum, as the Crimson earned its sixth-straight victory on Sunday afternoon, closing out the 2025 regular season with an 8-1 win against Cornell.

Everyone in the Crimson lineup found success on the offensive end, as nine Harvard batters recorded at least one hit. Sophomore Audrey Szollosi enjoyed a career-day at the plate in the regular season finale, collecting a career-high four hits with an RBI, as she is now tied with junior infielder Finley Payne and first-year utility Alexa Muller for the most in a game this season. Senior infielder Priyanka Kaul and first-year outfielder Elena Weinseimer each drove in two runs.

After tossing a complete game shutout with a career-high seven strikeouts in the series opener, sophomore Nicolette Hunter was once again lights out in the circle, holding the visitors scoreless with one strikeout across four innings of work. Across 21 innings this weekend, the Crimson pitching staff posted a 0.67 team ERA, only allowing two runs with 16 strikeouts.

Just Sweeping in the Rain ?????#GoCrimson #LND pic.twitter.com/NQQj9dBoyV
— Harvard Softball (@HarvardSB) May 4, 2025
 

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Just like it did in the first two games, Harvard (26-11, 15-6 Ivy League) manufactured the opening run of the contest against Cornell (16-22, 6-15). Singles from Szollosi and sophomore infielder Sophie Sun put two runners on, as senior outfielder Savannah Fitzpatrick loaded the bases after working a walk.

On the second pitch of her at-bat with bases loaded, Kaul snuck a hit past the Big Red shortstop, providing Harvard a 1-0 lead with an RBI-single, her 25^th RBI of the year.

After a scoreless second inning, the Crimson utilized small ball tactics to score three runs in the bottom of the third. Once again, leadoff hits led to success for the Crimson, as Muller started the frame with a single. A single from Fitzpatrick but runners on the corners, as a perfectly performed double steal scored Harvard's second run of the day.

Attacking at the Dish!

Priyanka Kaul gives us the lead in the first ??

??2 | Harvard 1, Cornell 0

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??https://t.co/x3DcfmWYa6#GoCrimson #LND pic.twitter.com/Jx0djRHUSa
— Harvard Softball (@HarvardSB) May 4, 2025
 

Harvard didn't stop there, scoring two more runs in the third. Weinseimer took a pitch on the inside part of the zone and lofted a hit into right field for an RBI-single, as Szollosi's third hit of the day drove in another run to put Harvard up by four runs.

In the fourth, Harvard poured on more runs, scoring a pair. Back-to-back walks from Muller and Fitzpatrick put runners on early in the frame. In back-to-back at-bats, Kaul and Weinseimer both drove in runs to extend the Crimson lead to six runs.

In the top of the fifth, Cornell scored a run, but the Crimson tacked on another run in its half of the fifth inning to restore its six-run lead. With two runners on base, Payne sent a deep shot to deep left field, as the ball bounced off the wall to score a runner with an RBI-double. A sacrifice fly from Muller scored Harvard's eighth run of contest, as the Crimson took an 8-1 lead to the seventh.

From there, junior pitcher Ryan Grace shut the door on the Big Red, as the Crimson ended the 2025 regular season with a series sweep of Cornell. Harvard tallied 14 hits this afternoon, as nine different student-athletes logged at least one hit.

Before We left For the Delay, Finley Payne brought in another run with a double! 

??5 | Harvard 7, Cornell 1

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??https://t.co/x3DcfmWYa6 #GoCrimson #LND pic.twitter.com/M11Muti5Qg
— Harvard Softball (@HarvardSB) May 4, 2025
 

HARVARD HIGHLIGHTS:

• Harvard ends the 2025 regular season with a 26-11 record, entering the 2025 Ivy League Tournament as the No. 2 seed.
• Szollosi set a new career-high in hits in a game with four against the Big Red.
• Hunter pitched 11.0 innings this weekend against Cornell, as she did not allow a run in her two starts.
• The Crimson pitching staff only allowed two runs in 21 innings in the series against Cornell.
• Harvard ends the 2025 regular season with four sweeps in conference play.
• The Crimson is now 6-1 in the final game of Ivy League series this season.

UP NEXT:

The Crimson begin the postseason next weekend, starting its time at the 2025 Ivy League Tournament on Thursday, May 8 in Princeton, New Jersey with a matchup against Columbia at 2:30 p.m. Every contest from the 2025 Ivy League Tournament will air live on ESPN+.

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