The Dartmouth softball team took four more losses this week, falling in two doubleheaders to Ivy League opponents Yale and Brown.
In four home games, Dartmouth fell 9-1 and 5-4 to Yale and 3-1 twice to Brown.
The Big Green record fell to 4-18 overall and 0-4 in the Ivy League with the losses.
Gaining early leads in both games against Yale, the Big Green were unable to convert their success into wins.
In the first game, Dartmouth scored its first and only run in the bottom of the first inning when Julia Doster '97 was brought home from third by Liz Teutsch '99. Doster had started the inning off with a double and was advanced to third by a bunt from Gretchen Saegh '99.
This run was the only one that Yale starter senior Jenn Surface allowed. Surface gave up only four hits in the game and struck out eight batters.
Dartmouth held up against the Elis until the third inning when Yale surged past Dartmouth by earning four runs.
Yale added five more runs in the fourth inning to take an eight-point lead over the Big Green and secure the 9-1 win.
In the second game of the Yale-Dartmouth doubleheader, Dartmouth again showed an early drive, scoring two runs in the first.
After singling in Doster and Saegh to start off the game with a 2-0 lead, Teutsch suffered an injury to her left leg while attempting to run from first to second and was forced to leave the game.
"We thought it was a muscle pull," Head Coach Steffany Bender said. "We sent her for x-rays."
Dartmouth held its own through the third inning when it quieted Yale with an impressive first and third double play and then scored two more runs in the bottom. Bess Tortolani '98 singled in Doster and Saegh, advancing the lead to 4-0.
The fourth inning saw Yale bounce back, however, as the Elis scored two runs against starting pitcher Raili Cook '98, forcing her from the field. Relief pitcher Erin Rath '98 allowed one run to score on a wild pitch, then followed by walking in two more runs bringing the final score to 5-2 in Yale's favor.
"The second game showed what sort of quality softball we can play," Bender said. "We were going against their top pitcher and hitting pretty hard but at the end of the game, it just did not stack up."
After Sunday's doubleheader was postponed due to rain, the Big Green took the field against the Brown Bears. Dartmouth faltered again, falling twice with 3-1 scores.
Dartmouth scored its first and only run of the first game in the third inning. Doster scored when Lauren McQuade '97 grounded out.
Christina Maybaum '98 pitched the entire game for the Big Green, allowing just five hits and three runs.
The sixth inning proved a disappointment for the Big Green. Brown began the inning with a walk, an infield single, an error, a fielder's choice and another Dartmouth error. All three runs of that inning were unearned and gave the Bears a victory.
In the second game, Dartmouth had a strong initial showing when Tortolani singled in Doster from second base in the first inning.
Dartmouth again allowed two unearned runs in the sixth inning to break a tie and give the Bears a second 3-1 victory.
