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After a rocky start to its Ivy season, Harvard softball (16-8, 5-4 Ivy) traveled to the University of Pennsylvania (2-26-1, 0-12 Ivy) this weekend, re-establishing its place in the Ivy League and earning a winning record in conference play. The Crimson swept all three games in its series against the Quakers, winning by a larger margin in each subsequent game as it appeared to catch its stride for the season.

Coming into the year, the Crimson ranked number two in the preseason Ivy League polls. However, the team ended up on the wrong side of a three-game sweep in its first series against number one-ranked Princeton. Undeterred, Harvard soon found some success the next weekend, taking the series 2-1 against Columbia (12-13, 6-3 Ivy). This weekend, the Crimson officially shook off its losing conference record with three clean wins against the Quakers to place the team third in Ivy League standings.

While the teams looked tightly matched on Friday night with Harvard pulling out 3-1 and 4-1 wins, on Saturday, the Crimson showed its dominance over the Quakers with a 6th inning run rule, 11-1 win to close out the weekend.

Harvard 3, Penn 1

The series started out relatively quiet with a scoreless first two innings. In the third inning, the Crimson put the first runs on the board. Freshman outfielder Elena Weinseimer hit a line drive shot up the middle for a single. Quickly after, junior infielder Finley Payne stepped up to the plate and scorched a bomb towards right field, landing in a tree well behind the back fence to put the Crimson up 2-0.

Penn responded that same inning with senior pitcher Rachel Riley making her way around the diamond and snagging an RBI.

Following another scoreless inning, sophomore infielder Sophie Sun scored the last runs of the night during the top of the fifth. Sun launched a bomb out of left field and turned the scoreboard to 3-1 with the Crimson on top. This marked Sun’s fifth homer of the season, reaffirming her status as the reigning Ivy League Player and Rookie of the Year. The sophomore currently holds the highest batting average and total bases for the Crimson.

Much of the first win could be attributed to excellent pitching and defense on the day. Sophomore Nicolette Hunter pitched her third complete game in a row and gave up only four hits and one run. Hunter also tied her career high with seven strikeouts.

Harvard 4, Penn 1

The second game of the series started hotter than the first. In the first inning, the Crimson walked the first two batters in the Penn lineup, which quickly led to the Quakers having the bases loaded and no outs by the time the fourth batter took the plate. Harvard was able to snap back into action, only giving up one RBI to Penn’s senior infielder Madison Bauerle.

Harvard’s senior infielder Maya Douglas responded with a deep home run past left field during the very first at-bat in the second to tie things up at 1-1.

Excellent pitching followed, with three and a half scoreless innings. Harvard’s junior pitcher Riley Flynn took the mound in the second and ended the day with five strikeouts, three hits, and no runs given up to the Quakers.

In the top of the sixth, Harvard took the game as its own. This started with the Quakers walking the Crimson’s two top hitters, Payne and Sun, in quick succession. Freshman Quinn Salazar-Stewart then hit a single, advancing the pair. The fourth batter of the inning, senior infielder Priyanka Kaul, then hit a well-timed double between the shortstop and third base, to send Sun and Payne home, and make the score 3-1 Harvard. After that, Harvard's senior catcher Savannah Fitzpatrick made it home on an RBI, earning the Crimson a 4-1 win for the game.

Harvard 11, Penn 1

Buoyed by its successes the day before, the Crimson came out strong again in the third game of the series, nearly scoring in the first inning with bases loaded.

However, the Quakers held them off. Penn couldn’t hold them back for long, though, as one inning later, Douglas fired a single to get the inning started. Despite a brief rain delay, first-year Alexa Muller kept the offense coming with a hard hit past the right fielder for a double. Weinseimer followed up with a hard grounder to shortstop to bring first-year pinch runner Julia Mizo home for the first run of the game off a dropped ball by the Penn catcher.

Up 1-0 with two runners on base, Payne launched her fourth home run of the season past the left field fences to extend their lead by three, 4-0. Hunter continued to pitch flawlessly from the mound as an inning later, Douglas followed Payne’s form with a left-center field homer of her own to put Harvard up 5-0.

While Penn managed to score one off a misfielded ball from sophomore left fielder Audrey Szollosi, Sun quickly restored Harvard’s 6-1 lead in the top of the fourth inning with the Crimson’s third straight home run, Sun’s sixth of the season and second of the series.

The score remained unchanged until the sixth inning, when Harvard extended its lead even further, Salazar-Stewart starting off the rally with a sacrifice single to center field, bringing home Sun. Douglas brought home two more runs with a double RBI single before Muller continued her stellar hitting with her first home run as a Crimson, launching the ball to left field to set the score 11-1.

Flynn closed out the game with three quick outs. Harvard ended the last game of the weekend in six innings to secure its first sweep of the season. Despite a tough start to the season, the team’s outstanding performance this weekend has allowed it to work up the Ivy League standings, now sitting in third place behind only Princeton and Columbia.

Coming off the back of a five-game win streak, the Crimson will hope to continue its success as it heads back home to Soldiers Field to face off against rivals Yale in an alumni weekend series.

– Staff Writer Sofia Zhang can be reached at sofia.zhang@thecrimson.com.