The softball team hopes to salvage its Ivy League season this weekend. The Bulldogs (9-22, 4-8 Ivy) will host their archrival and divisional opponent Harvard Crimson (18-20, 9-3) for two doubleheaders, on Saturday and Sunday, at Dewitt Family Field.

The Elis are coming off four deflating losses to divisional opponent Dartmouth last weekend in which the Bulldog defense allowed the Big Green to score at least seven runs in each game.

“The Dartmouth games are over,” centerfielder and captain Ashley Sloan ’10 said. “We’re looking forward to Harvard.”

Harvard is coming off a 7–5 10-inning loss to Rhode Island on Tuesday. In their previous Ivy League matchup, the Crimson took three out of four games in two home doubleheaders against Brown.

Against the two teams’ mutual Ivy opponents this season (Columbia, Penn, Cornell, Princeton), Harvard is 6–2 while Yale is 4–4.

When the rivals met last season in a home-and-home series, Yale won two games in Cambridge before Harvard won two games in New Haven. Over the last five seasons the Bulldogs are 5–11 against the Crimson.

Harvard is currently tied with Dartmouth for the lead in the Ivy League North Division while Yale is third. The winner of the North Division will play the winner of the South Division to determine the Ivy League champion.

The Elis have been led throughout the season by their captain, Sloan. The centerfielder leads the team in batting average (.321), runs scored (15), hits (35) and stolen bases (10). In Ivy League play, Sloan has 15 hits and six RBI.

Catcher McKynlee Westman ’11 has stepped up her game in conference play. In Ivy League play, Westman leads the Elis in batting average (.438). Westman is also tied with shortstop Meg Johnson ’12 for the team lead in doubles throughout the entire season.

Pitcher Holly Gutterud ’10 leads the team in ERA (3.27) while pitcher Kayla Kuretich ’10 leads the team in opposing batting average (.238).

Harvard, meanwhile, is led by Ellen Macadam, who leads the team in batting average (.325) and hits (37). Whitney Shaw leads the team in home runs with eight.

Harvard’s pitchers collectively have an ERA of 2.94, in contrast to Yale’s 3.98. Crimson pitcher Rachel Brown is 11–5 this season with a 1.40 ERA.

The doubleheaders will begin at 12:30 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.