While chilling winds linger in the air, spring has begun on the softball field--and it appears that Harvard is already warmed up.

The Harvard softball team kicked off its season last weekend in grand fashion, traveling 1,500 miles and 40 degrees Fahrenheit to sunny South Florida and taking four of six games against stiff competition.

Harvard (4-2) dropped its opening contest to Florida Atlantic by a score of 8-5 before winning four consecutive games, capped by a 2-1 upset of 23rd-ranked University of Illinois-Chicago. The Crimson concluded its three-day stint with a narrow 3-2 loss against ninth-ranked Missouri.

For Harvard, last season's ECAC Tournament runner-up, such a strong showing against some of the nation's top-caliber teams represents a tremendous success, especially this early in the season. Even in the one-run loss to Missouri, the Crimson held a 2-0 lead before the Tigers rallied for three runs in the fourth inning.

Harvard will be off for the next two weeks until it travels to California over spring break. The Crimson will kick things off on the West Coast at the Sacramento State Tournament on March 19-22.

Harvard then heads to Fresno State and Stanford for a pair of double-dips on March 23 and 24, respectively, before wrapping up its West-Coast swing in Fremont, CA, with a contest against Portland State or Bakersfield followed by the California Hayward Tournament.

Harvard is sure to encounter strong opposition in California, just as it did in Florida. But the Crimson has already shown it can compete against the country's best.