The Dartmouth softball team wonders if Brown will play them with the same attitude next year.
The team defeated Brown on Sunday, 6-4 for its first ever Ivy League victory as a varsity team to give Dartmouth a 1-3 Ivy League record.
For the Big Green, it was an exceptional defeat, considering Brown refused to play Dartmouth last year because of the Big Green's club status.
The victory capped an otherwise disappointing weekend that saw the team drop a tough doubleheader to Fairfield on Friday and lose to Yale on Saturday
"Before we played Brown we had the attitude that we could beat them," Coach Hank Tenney said.
"In the first inning, we hit really well and then continued to play great defense" Tenney said. "We were able to hold on and beat them, despite their comeback in the seventh inning."
"We played solid defense and kept our composure," said tri-Captain Ericka Lee '95. "We were psyched to beat Brown, especially because they are an Ivy League team."
"I think we really shocked them in the beginning" said Christina Maybaum '98, who pitched an outstanding game, carrying a three-hitter into the sixth inning. "We realized we had nothing to lose and just played as hard as we could. We hit the ball really well and we were able to clinch the win."
Julie Doster '97 went 3-3 from the plate and drove in three runs.
Rachel Rochat '95 went 2-3 and drove in one run and Susan Warhover '95 drove in two runs with a double. Lauren McQuade '97 had two doubles.
On Friday at Fairfield, Dartmouth lost both games 8-7 in extra innings. The team came back in the first game to tie the score with a two run homer by Jen Pitts '95, but lost in the eighth.
Dartmouth took a two-run lead into the seventh inning of the nightcap before Fairfield evened the score with a two-run homer and eventually prevailed in the eighth.
"Friday we got discouraged because we didn't play very well against Fairfield," Tenney said.
"On Saturday when we played Yale, we had a tough time in the first game," he said. "We turned things around in the second game though and played well despite the rain."
Dartmouth lost the first game of the Yale doubleheader 8-0. The second game was eventually called due to weather and will be made up at the end of the season.
"The kids know that they can play anyone as long as they play good defense," Tenney said. "That is our strength and our games really depend on that."
The Big Green will host Amherst this Wednesday at 3 p.m., at Chase Field.
