Penn softball swept by Harvard

On April 17, Penn softball snapped its 10-game losing streak after taking down neighboring Drexel at Penn Park. The Red and Blue’s time in the win column was brief, however, after being swept at Harvard this weekend in a three-game series.

Despite promising offensive momentum, the Quakers (8-25, 2-13 Ivy) could not overcome a shutout on Saturday and late-inning strength from the Crimson (21-14, 12-6 Ivy) on Sunday to pull out a win in Cambridge, Mass. This weekend’s results continue the Red and Blue’s struggles on the road this season, sitting 1-15 in away games after dropping all three games against Harvard, which currently sits in a close second place in Ivy League standings.

“Harvard is a well-oiled machine,” coach Christie Novatin said. “I think we were challenged to just make quick adjustments and kind of show a lot of fight throughout the game, which I thought we did a much better job of on Sunday than we necessarily did on Saturday.”

During game one of the series on Saturday, the Quakers’ bats were silenced by Harvard right-handed pitcher Anna Reed. Pitching a complete game shutout, Reed held the Quaker offense to only two hits in the match. With little success at the plate, the Red and Blue fell to the Crimson 7-0.

Sunday’s doubleheader brought an opportunity for redemption, and the Quakers didn’t go down without a fight. In the first half of the doubleheader, the Quakers hit the ground running, scoring four runs in the first two innings. Harvard quickly made up the deficit by scoring five runs in the fourth inning, keeping the Red and Blue on their toes.

With an opportunity to tie the game, senior infielder Sammy Fenton hit a sharp line drive down the first base line at the top of the fifth inning. Speeding around the bases, Fenton was surprised to see that she was being waved home by her coaches. The throw from the Harvard defense was too late as Fenton secured her first inside-the-park home run as a Quaker.

“Once I rounded second, I couldn't really see what was behind me going on in the field, but I knew I had a shot of the triple off the bat,” Fenton said. “As soon as [I was sent] home I was like, you've got to be kidding me, something must’ve happened. I couldn't believe it. So in the moment I thought it was a joke, but it was pretty cool afterwards.” 

Fenton’s success at the plate was the standout performance for the Red and Blue this weekend, going 5-for-10 with four RBIs across all three games. The Crimson ultimately answered Fenton’s homer with four runs in the bottom of the fifth, and Penn fell 9-5.

In the second half of Sunday’s doubleheader, the Crimson hit the scoreboard first with two runs in the bottom of the second inning. The Quakers came back swinging, though, capitalizing on Crimson errors and walks to score four runs and take a 5-3 lead in the top of the fifth. Harvard pulled off last-minute heroics in the bottom of the sixth, scoring four runs and winning the game 7-5.

As the season begins to wind down, Novatin plans to use the last few weeks of play as a growing opportunity for the program. By addressing key areas of weakness now instead of during the offseason, Novatin and her coaching staff hope to get a head start on improvements for next season.

“We're trying to use the messaging right now of why not use this time to work through games strategies and things like that, that we don't usually get the opportunity to do in the fall,” Novatin said. “I'm kind of in the mindset of let's grow the program. Let's send the seniors out with a bang and let's see who we can disrupt in the league and cause havoc. I think that's fun.”

The Quakers look to bounce back this Wednesday at 4 p.m. with a road matchup against the Villanova Wildcats.