The Dartmouth softball team went out hard against Ivy League opponent Columbia University last Friday and never looked back.
The Big Green swept the Big Red in both games of the doubleheader, coming away with two wins, 3-0 and 8-0.
Not only did the team walk away with two W's to add to its record (now 4-14), but it also came away with its first sweep of the season and the first ever perfectly pitched game in Dartmouth's history.
Christina Maybaum '98 tossed for the Big Green in this record-setting first game, allowing no hits and striking out four batters. The win was the first for Maybaum in the season.
"The wins were really good," co-Captain Karen Hersey '96 said. "It was good that the pitchers could get some confidence, that the whole team could get some confidence."
The game remained scoreless until the sixth inning, when Dartmouth began its run.
Bess Tortolani '98 tripled in both Gretchen Saegh '99 and co-Captain Lauren McQuade '97 to give the Big Green a 2-0 lead.
Jane Peachy '99 followed up on her team's start, batting in Tortolani with a sacrifice fly.
Columbia was unable to get any hits throughout the game and fell to Dartmouth 3-0.
Dartmouth came on strong again in the second game of the afternoon. A four-run third inning gave Dartmouth a considerable lead, having already scored three runs previously. Saegh led off the inning with a triple.
Liz Teutsch '99 followed up with a double to send Saegh home. McQuade came next with a triple to get Teutsch home and Tortolani brought McQuade in with a double.
In the fifth inning, Tortolani brought the score to 8-0 after a Karen Hersey '96 groundout.
On the mound for Dartmouth, Raili Cook '98 gave up five hits in her five innings. She had one strikeout on the afternoon.
Dartmouth did not fare so well on Saturday when the team took on Central Connecticut in New Britain. The Big Green lost in two close games, 12-11 and 9-6.
"The two losses were tough. We should have won both," Hersey said.
In the opener of the afternoon, Dartmouth came up with a 11-8 lead by the top of the sixth.
A wild pitch sent Tortolani home after her two-run triple. Three more wild pitches sent Peachy around the bases for another run. Finally, a sacrifice fly from Julia Doster '97 put the Big Green ahead by three.
The lead was short-lived, however.
With two outs, Central Connecticut responded to Dartmouth's lead by scoring four runs of its own in the bottom of the seventh inning.
"We played six good innings, but then we lost focus and intensity," Hersey said.
Maybaum took the loss for the Big Green, pitching for 6 2/3 innings.
Dartmouth followed this game with another loss in the second game of the afternoon.
"After the first loss we tried to forget about it," Hersey said. "But it really affected us. We were flat. We didn't play well."
The Big Green faced a 9-3 deficit after the fifth inning. Central Connecticut let down in the seventh inning, giving up three walks. Bridget Finn '99 came up with a hit to leave the final score at 9-6.
Erin Rath '98 tossed for the Big Green, taking the loss for her four innings.
McQuade added three runs and three RBI's over the course of the afternoon, going 3-4 and 2-4 in the two games, respectively.
"The losses were a minor setback for us. The team's we've been playing recently we have the talent to beat. We've been missing something in each game," Hersey said.
Depending on the weather, the Big Green will battle Merrimack in a doubleheader today at 3:00 p.m.
