Over the weekend, the women鈥檚 softball team (7-15, 2-4 Ivy) took on the Harvard Crimson (12-12, 3-5 Ivy) in a three-game series. After a disappointing doubleheader on Saturday, in which the Bears lost 3-0 and 5-3, the team rallied on Sunday, upsetting the Crimson 2-0.
Coming into this weekend鈥檚 matchup, the Bears were 1-2 in conference play. Last week, as the rest of campus embarked for their spring break jamborees, the softball team drove to New Haven to kick off Ivy League play against Yale. By the end of the game, Yale pulled away 4-3. Brown seemed ready to meet a similarly ill fate in the second match-up, and the team鈥檚 three runs were unable to contest Yale鈥檚 four. Threatened by the prospects of a sweep, the Bears clawed their way back in the final contest, taking home a 7-6 victory.
On Saturday, the softball team looked to rewrite the narrative and move past its early Ivy struggles.
鈥淥ur team is mentally tough,鈥� pitcher Alexis Guevara 鈥�25 wrote in a message to The Herald. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 allow errors to snowball, and we don鈥檛 allow losses to spill over into our play 鈥� We learn from the past, and we focus on the game at hand.鈥�
But Saturday did not offer the solutions the Bears were looking for. In the first bout, Harvard shut Brown out 3-0. The second game saw Brown鈥檚 offense revived. After two runs by Brianna Rodriguez 鈥�24, the Bears claimed a 2-1 lead. But two Harvard home runs in the fifth quickly flipped the script. Despite a late run scored by Liv Kam 鈥�26 in the sixth inning, Brown鈥檚 struggling offense was unable to contest the Crimson, and the Bears fell 5-3.
The team stayed optimistic heading into Sunday鈥檚 series closer. 鈥淲e are all competitors,鈥� Guevara wrote. 鈥淣one of us need much motivation to avenge a loss. It鈥檚 in our nature to compete and try to win every game.鈥�
With the sun shining on a warm Sunday afternoon, the Bears welcomed the fresh start. Guevara 鈥� who earned First Team All-Ivy honors last season 鈥� spearheaded the offensive, throwing a complete shutout in a pitch-perfect game. Her 56 season strikeouts rank third in the Ivy League, and she has a league-fourth earned run average of 2.57.
The Bears came out blazing in the first inning. Jasmine Hsiao 鈥�26 鈥� whose 23 hits and .359 batting average lead the Bears鈥� batting statistics 鈥� was first to take the plate. On her first attempt, she hit a single, and after a sacrifice bunt by Lily Berlinger 鈥�26, she made it to second base.
鈥淎s the leadoff hitter in this series, it is my job to set the pace of the game,鈥� Hsiao wrote. I 鈥渟ee a lot of pitches and communicate what I鈥檓 seeing to the rest of my teammates.鈥�
A walk by Laurel Moody 鈥�25 set the stage for two potential Brown scores. With the possibility of claiming an early lead, Rodriguez took to the bat, and after delivering a vicious hit that split two Harvard defenders in the deep outfield, Hsiao and Moody both scored.
On Sunday, 鈥淚 think everyone saw firsthand what our team can do,鈥� wrote Guevara. 鈥淚n all three games, our hitters were barrelling up the ball, and it was great to see those at-bats pay off in the first inning to get ahead of the Crimsons.鈥�
While the rest of the game featured brief offensive flurries 鈥� a stand-up triple by Berlinger in the third inning and a Dara English 鈥�24 stand-up double in the sixth 鈥� no more points were scored. In the seventh inning, Rodriguez ended the game with an impossible diving catch, her body contorting as she stretched her arm out, perfectly horizontal to the ground. The Bears left the match-up ahead 2-0.
鈥淏rianna had a huge impact on the series,鈥� Hsiao reflected. 鈥淪he had centerfield on lock-down, robbing home runs, and making diving plays. She also came through on offense as well, her double scoring both me and Laurel won the game for us on Sunday.鈥�
The Bears will face Dartmouth next on Saturday in Hanover, New Hampshire. The three-game series will begin at 12:30 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.
鈥淭he goal for our team for the remainder of the season is to win and make it to the Ivy League playoffs,鈥� Hsiao concluded. 鈥淲e are on the right track and I am optimistic about our future Ivy series.鈥�
Lydell Dyer is a Senior Staff Writer for the sports section. A sophomore hailing from Bonn, Germany, Lydell is studying nonfiction English and political science, and if he's not off "making words sound pretty," you can find him lifting heavy circles at the Nelson.
