On Saturday, the Brown softball team (33-15, 13-8 Ivy) etched their names in the history books after winning the Ivy League Tournament Championship. Following a dominant 4-1 victory over tournament first-seed Princeton (28-18, 17-4) in the championship finale, the Bears qualified for the NCAA tournament and will take on Texas Tech on Friday.
This season was the Bears’ first with Head Coach Mary Holt-Kelsch, and they posted 33 wins — the most victories in a single season since 1991. Although Brown has won five Ivy League titles because of their standing in the regular season, Saturday’s victory was the first time the Bears have ever won the Ivy League Tournament.
“Competing in and winning the Ivy Tournament was an amazing experience,” Holt-Kelsch wrote in a message to The Herald. “The dream of a team is always to win a championship and being able to do that means everything to this program.”
“I think our success came from the fact we were playing for something bigger than ourselves,” she continued. “We were playing for the future of this program with an appreciation for all those who came before us. Our vision, our goals and really staying together is what helped us achieve this championship run!”
On their way to win it all, the Bears were aided by senior duo Laurel Moody ’25 and Alexis Guevara ’25, both of whom earned First-Team All Ivy Honors.
Moody stood out all season long, and she was crowned the Ivy League Player of the Year. With 15 home runs, 42 RBIs and 61 hits, Moody shattered three different Brown single season records this year. Not only that, she also led the Ivy League in batting average, hits, home runs, RBIs and total bases claimed.
During the tournament, Guevara excelled, earning the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award. Winning each of the Bears’ three games with her stellar pitching performances, Guevara became only the second athlete to earn 20 wins in a season in program history.
“I could never do it without my teammates,” Guevara wrote to The Herald about winning the award. “Amanda Deng (’28) made amazing catches in right field, Abby Bettencourt (’28) saved many plays at first and Laurel Moody made key outs in her 21 innings of catching.”
Throughout the regular season, Guevara led the Ivy League with 17 wins and 149 strikeouts, while becoming the first Ivy League pitcher to finish a season with a sub-2.00 earned run average.
“My goal for every weekend is to take it one pitch at a time,” Guevara added. “I try to keep a small focus, instead of trying to win all 7 innings at once. If I win every pitch, one by one, it makes pitching the whole game manageable.”
The Bears began their campaign for the Ivy League title with a first-round match-up against Princeton on Thursday. Facing the No. 1 seed, Brown delivered one of its best performances of the season.
Guevara played a near-perfect game, shutting the Tigers out. With the defense locked down, the offense shone. Cameron Zytkewicz Ray ’26 was the star of the show, earning two runs. Capping off the 4-0 performance were Vanessa Alexander ’25 and Alyssa Villarde ’27, who each scored a run of their own.
Taking on Columbia in the semifinals, the Bears notched two late-game runs to clinch a berth for the championship finale. Leah Carey ’25 and Maya Choksi ’27 rounded the bases for Brown, while Guevara struck out six batters throughout her seven innings pitched.
After a hard-earned 2-1 victory, Brown took on Princeton once more to win it all.
In the championship game, the Bears came out swinging. Jasmine Hsiao ’26 made it on base in her first at-bat, and after Moody stepped up to the plate, Hsiao was able to secure Brown’s first run of the day.
Though Princeton tied the game in the third, Brown came right back in the fourth. Zytkewicz Ray reached first base on a walk, and propelled by a wild pitch and two singles by Bettencourt and Elli Thompson ’28, Zytkewicz Ray recaptured the lead.
Already up by one, the Bears commanded the fifth inning. Kaicee Klus ’27 struck first, hitting an infield single. Aided by a Moody double and a Guevara hit, Klus was able to sneak by the Tiger defense to advance Brown 3-1. Blowing the lead even wider was Maya Choksi ’27, who clinched the Bruno victory with a run to home plate.
“Watching Cam get that last out (in the 7th inning) felt like all of the pressure of the weekend fell away and was replaced by so much joy,” Guevara wrote. Winning the Ivy League tournament “has been something that we have been working towards all year, and for my fellow seniors, for four years.”
Now, the Bears look to conquer the NCAA stage in their first match-up against Texas Tech at 5:30 p.m. this Friday.
“Every player grows up watching the NCAA Tournament and dreams one day they will be able to compete in the tournament,” Holt-Kelsch concluded. “We will be playing the best teams in the country, storied programs and top-level pitchers so we really have to lock in and get to work.”
Clarification: The headline of this article has been updated to better reflect the Bears' victory in the Ivy Tournament.
Lydell Dyer is a sports editor for The Herald. A junior hailing from Bonn, Germany, Lydell is studying nonfiction English and political science, and if he's not off "making words sound pretty," you can find him lifting heavy circles at the Nelson.
