The Ivy League champion Harvard Crimson softball squad (11-1 in Ivy play) found the confines of Norman, Oklahoma a bit less friendly than those of familiar Ivy League stadiums, and the results show that.
The Crimson, the lone Ivy representative to the NCAA Regional, were eliminated in two straight games, falling to host Oklahoma University 11-0 a week ago Thursday and Northwestern 9-6 last Friday.
Harvard had the misfortune of drawing the national powerhouse Sooners, ranked fourth in the country, in the first round on their home turf. Led by the superb pitching of Lana Moran, who hurled five shutout innings, the Sooners only needed four innings to put the Crimson away. Moran allowed just two hits, upping her record to 25-2 on the year.
On the mound for Harvard was sophomore righty Suzanne Guy who fell to 6-9 on the season. She gave up four runs in one-third of an inning before being relieved by junior Chelsea Thoke, who went the rest of the game, walking two and fanning six.
Offensively, the Sooners were powered by Big XII Player of the Year Lisa Carey, who garnered two hits and three runs. Junior Mairead McKendry and senior Crystal Springer provided the Crimson's two hits.
After winning the Regional, Oklahoma went on to earn a spot in the College World Series. They faced sixth-seeded California yesterday in a late game.
In the loser's bracket the Crimson squared off with Northwestern Wildcats, but they fell short 9-6. Harvard grabbed a promising 4-0 lead in the third inning on back-to-back homers off the bats of senior Jessie Amberg and freshman Tiffany Whitton, as they batted around the order.
However, the Wildcats answered in the bottom of the inning with four runs of their own to tie the game. The Crimson finished the season at 19-21 overall.
