Crimson Win Two Close Games

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Yale's pitching held Harvard's vaunted offense in check for much of Saturday's doubleheader. The Crimson, though, got some pretty good work in the circle as well and used one big inning to earn a pair of victories over the Bulldogs.

Run-scoring doubles from Giana Panariello and Rhianna Rich in the eighth inning lifted Harvard to a 2-0 victory in the first game, and Rich and Meagan Lantz homered in a three-run fifth inning in the second game as the Crimson rallied for a 5-4 win.

Harvard (19-13, 8-2 Ivy) has won eight straight games.

Camille Weisenbach had two hits in the opener and added an RBI single in the second game, and Brittany Labbadia singled in the first game and had two hits in the second game for the Bulldogs (11-25, 4-6 Ivy).

The Crimson had scored 31 runs in its three games leading up to the doubleheader, but Lindsay Efflandt held Harvard in check big time in the opener. She allowed only four hits through the first seven innings before the Crimson scored the two winning runs on three hits in the eighth.

Efflandt struck out three and did not issue a walk.

Yale had a great chance in the bottom of the seventh, putting runners on first and third with one out. Harvard pitcher Morgan Groom, though, induced an infield pop out, and after hitting pinch-hitter Rachel Paris to load the bases, got a ground out to send the game to extra innings.

Groom was stellar in the circle as well. She did not issue a walk, allowed five hits and struck out five.  Groom also was the recipient of some outstanding defense. Catcher Elizabeth Shively made a diving catch to snare a Shelby Kennedy pop fly in the third, and rightfielder Haley Davis ventured far into foul territory to make a diving catch on Lauren Delgadillo's fly ball in the fifth.

The Bulldogs had another scoring chance in the fourth when Allison Skinner doubled with two outs, but she was left stranded.

Yale capitalized on its opportunities early in the second game. Weisenbach's hard single off the pitcher in the first inning gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead. Labbadia's bunt single scored Laina Do in the second, and Do doubled home Paris in the third.

Harvard closed to within 3-2 with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth, but the Bulldogs answered with a run in the bottom of the inning when Sydney Ginsberg singled and later scored on an error.

The Crimson, though, used the long ball to take the lead in the fifth. With one out, Rich homered to right, and after a Maddy Kaplan single, Lantz belted a long blast over the centerfield fence to give Harvard the lead for good.

Pitcher Taylor Cabe allowed Yale only one base runner over the final three innings.

The same two teams will play another doubleheader at Dewitt Family Field on Sunday starting at 12:30 p.m.

Report filed by Tim Bennett (timothy.bennett@yale.edu), Yale Sports Publicity