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Sports briefs

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Softball sweeps Penn, nabs Ivy title

Solid pitching lifted the Harvard softball team past Penn, 4-0 and 4-2, this past Saturday afternoon (May 5) at Soldiers Field in Ivy League Championship action. With the wins, the Crimson program collected its fourth league title and first since the 2001 season.

Against the Quakers, junior pitcher Shelly Madick managed a no-hitter in game one and recorded a save in 2.1 innings of work in the second contest. In the first game, Madick allowed just one base runner and struck out seven Quakers to improve to 16-4 on the season. The junior relieved Dana Roberts ’10 in the fifth inning of the second game with two on and two out. Madick escaped the frame by forcing a ground out to first before striking out a pair of Quakers batters over the final two innings to preserve the 4-2 Harvard lead.

The junior — ranked 37th nationally with a 1.45 earned run average — recently picked up her third consecutive pitcher of the week nod from the league.

With the sweep, Harvard improved to 31-13 overall on the season (14-6 Ivy) to set up the program’s fourth 30-win season and a berth in the NCAA championships. The tournament gets under way at 16 regional sites May 18-20. Selections and pairings will be announced on Sunday (May 13). Visit http://www.gocrimson.com for the softball lowdown.