Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
Harvard
Softball Showcases Explosive Offense in Queens Against Harvard, St. John's
March 15, 2026 | Softball
QUEENS, N.Y. — Army West Point softball (10-14) played two games at Red Storm Field for the second consecutive day on Sunday, having a historic hitting performance in a six-inning win over the Harvard University Crimson (6-10-1), 14-4, before falling to the St. John's Red Storm (18-8), 3-9.
Army powered its way past Harvard with an explosive offensive performance, using five home runs to fuel a commanding 14–4 victory. The five home runs in the single game tied the Army Softball program record for most home runs in a single game, which last happened in 2018 when Army played at UMass Lowell.
The offensive performance was highlighted by the five home runs, coming from Mia Bonsignore, Taylor Brown, Emma Murchison, Ashton White and Caitlyn Newburn, while Murchison's five RBIs and multiple extra-base hits anchored one of Army's most offensively productive games of the season.
In the second game of the day, Army generated several offensive moments and showed resilience at the plate, but St. John's used two big innings early to pull away for a 9–3 victory.
Emma Murchison was one of the offensive leaders on the day, finishing with a team-best .667 batting average, four hits, including two doubles and a home run, two runs and five RBIs. She also went 4-4 in Army's win over the Crimson.
Taylor Brown was right behind her, batting .625 while adding a team-high five hits, with two home runs, plus five runs and three RBIs. Ashton White added four hits and three RBIs, plus Caitlyn Newburn added three hits and three RBIs on the day.
Breanna Izzo, Amanda Eaglin and Katelyn Flanders all saw action in the circle for the Black Knights. Breanna Izzo started and completed the full 6.0 innings against Harvard, adding four strikeouts while allowing four runs and seven hits, earning the win for Army.
Amanda Eaglin got the start against St. John's, finished the day with two strikeouts while allowing five hits, two walks and eight runs. Katelyn Flanders came in as relief, pitching for 3.2 innings, only allowing one earned run and five hits while adding two strikeouts. Eaglin received the loss in the game against the Red Storm.
GAME 1
After a scoreless first inning, the Black Knights struck first in the second. Breanna Coonfare opened the rally with a double and quickly moved into scoring position, stealing third base to put pressure on the defense. Emma Murchison followed with an RBI double to bring Coonfare home for the first run of the game.
Moments later, Mia Bonsignore delivered the first big swing of the day, blasting a two-run home run to score Murchison and extend Army's lead to 3–0.
Army continued the power surge in the third inning when Taylor Brown crushed a solo home run, pushing the Black Knights' advantage to 4–0 and keeping the momentum firmly on Army's side.
Harvard briefly answered in the bottom half of the inning with a two-run homer to cut the deficit to 4–2, but Army immediately responded with more power in the fourth.
After Maisi Sigler drew a walk, Murchison launched a towering two-run home run, her second extra-base hit of the game, restoring Army's cushion and making it 6–2.
Harvard scratched across another run in the fourth, but the Black Knights quickly seized control again with a massive fifth inning. Taylor Brown ignited the rally with a single and aggressive baserunning, stealing second and later scoring when Caitlyn Newburn lined a two-RBI single.
The inning continued as Murchison drove in two more runs with a double, and Samantha Sims added an RBI single, helping Army erupt for five runs in the frame and stretch the lead to 11–3.
The Black Knights added even more fireworks in the sixth inning. Brown singled and stole second base, setting the stage for Ashton White to launch a two-run home run to left field, another powerful swing that pushed the lead to 13–4.
Just moments later, Newburn followed with a solo home run, sending another ball over the fence and extending Army's advantage to 14–4.
Army's pitching from Breanna Izzo and defense took care of the rest, limiting Harvard's scoring opportunities and recording key outs to close the game and give Army its second win over Harvard during the weekend.
GAME 2
The Black Knights opened the game with a baserunner in the first when Sienna Tepley singled, but the rally stalled before Army could bring the runner home. Army's defense answered in the bottom half with a clean inning, retiring the side on three groundouts to keep the game scoreless.
St. John's broke through in the second inning after a leadoff single and a walk put runners aboard. A two-out RBI single started the scoring before a defensive miscue allowed additional runs to cross the plate, giving the Red Storm a 4–0 lead.
Army responded in the third inning. Taylor Brown sparked the rally with a double, and Ashton White followed with an RBI double to bring Brown home and put the Black Knights on the board, cutting the deficit to 4–1.
St. John's answered immediately with its biggest offensive inning of the game. After loading the bases with multiple singles and a walk, which caused Katelyn Flanders to enter as relief. The Red Storm then delivered a three-run double to extend the lead. The inning ultimately produced four runs, stretching the advantage to 8–1.
The Black Knights continued to battle and found a spark again in the fifth inning. Tepley singled to start the rally, setting the stage for the game's biggest swing from Army. Taylor Brown launched a two-run home run, driving the ball over the fence and scoring Tepley to trim the deficit to 9–3.
Army threatened to build on the momentum as Ashton White and Caitlyn Newburn followed with consecutive singles, putting additional runners on base. However, the Red Storm recorded the final outs of the inning to halt the rally.
From there, Army's pitching staff settled the game down. Katelyn Flanders found her footing, working out of jams and limiting St. John's to just one additional run after the third inning. The Black Knights' defense also tightened up, stranding multiple runners and preventing further damage late.
ON DECK
The Black Knights will be back at the Army Softball Complex on Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET for a midweek matchup against Fairfield.
The two programs face off for the first time since the 2023 season, with Army holding a 0-3 record against the Stags in their last three games played against each other. Army will take Ian to earn their first win against Fairfield since March 17, 2017, when the Black Knights earned a 6-3 win in Clearwater, Fla., at the Eddie C. Moore Softball Complex.
For fans who cannot attend the game at the Army Softball Complex on Wednesday, the afternoon matchup against the Stags will air live on ESPN+.
FOLLOW ALONG
For complete coverage of Army West Point softball, follow the Black Knights on X and Instagram at @ArmyWP_Softball and online at www.goarmywestpoint.com.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Izzo, Breanna (5-4)
L: Ryan Grace (1-2)
Batting:
2B: Coonfare, Breanna 1 ; Murchison, Emma 2
HR: Brown, Taylor 1 ; White, Ashton 1 ; Newburn, Caitlyn 1 ; Murchison, Emma 1 ; Bonsignore, Mia 1
RBI: Brown, Taylor 1 ; White, Ashton 2 ; Newburn, Caitlyn 3 ; Murchison, Emma 5 ; Bonsignore, Mia 2 ; Sims, Samantha 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Brown, Taylor 3 ; White, Ashton 2 ; Newburn, Caitlyn 1 ; Moore, Tayten 1 ; Coonfare, Breanna 2 ; Sigler, Maisi 1 ; Murchison, Emma 2 ; Christiana, Annie 1 ; Bonsignore, Mia 1
SB: Brown, Taylor 2 ; White, Ashton 1 ; Moore, Tayten 1 ; Coonfare, Breanna 2
Batting:
2B: Alexa Muller 1
HR: Sophie Sun 1
RBI: Sophie Sun 3 ; Finley Payne 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sophie Sun 1 ; Julia Mizo 1 ; Q. Salazar-Stewart 1 ; Sheila Forbes 1
HBP: Alexa Wohr 1
