Playing under a new league format, the Penn softball team had a chance to take the first-ever Ivy League championship series.
But Harvard's Shelly Madick wouldn't have it, as she limited the Penn bats to one hit in over nine innings. The Quakers fell 4-0 in game one, and the Crimson completed the sweep with a 4-2 victory in the second contest to earn the Ivy League title.
Coach Leslie King's team had already been swept in Cambridge in the regular season. This time around, she attributed the two losses to rust.
"The obvious thing was having two weeks off for reading days and finals," she said.
In game one, though, the problem could be found not on the academic calendar but on the mound.
Madick befuddled the Penn hitters, throwing a no-hitter while striking out seven. The normally potent Penn offense, which sports a .301 batting average, good for second in the league, fell apart.
"She pitched very well." King said of Madick, a junior. "She was very sharp."
Madick's performance gave Penn ace Emily Denstedt an uphill battle she couldn't overcome. Though Denstedt had a key strikeout with the bases loaded, she gave up nine hits and four earned runs in a complete-game effort.
In the second game, the Quakers (23-19, 14-6 Ivy) were able to get runners on base, but could not get them home. The team stranded a total of nine that game.
"We just didn't come through with clutch hits," King said.
The Quakers, down early 2-0 in the second game, were able to tie the game at two in a third inning that included doubles by seniors Teresa Leyden and Stephanie Reichert.
But a two-run homer by Harvard's Lauren Brown set King's team back for good.
The Quakers had more opportunities later on in the game, but Harvard reached for its trump card again. Madick, brought in to close the game out, allowed only one hit in 2.1 innings of work.
King chose the duo of Olivia Mauro and Casey Hare on the mound, each pitching just about half of the game. Both had seen considerably less time than Denstedt, with Hare only throwing 14 innings before Saturday.
The day's losses marked an 0-4 record for the Quakers against the Crimson this year, and the third in which Madick pitched. Asked why Penn did not match up well with the Crimson (31-13, 14-6 Ivy) this season, King had no comment.
But her team's performance this year will ease the bitterness of the loss. The Quakers captured their first winning season in over two decades and the most wins in school history. King, now in her fourth year, took a program with one Ivy win and brought it to the brink of title glory.
And so the bar will be set that much higher next season.
