The Dartmouth softball team split a doubleheader with Providence College on Monday afternoon at Sachem field. The Big Green were victorious in the opener, 4-2, but were no-hit in the nightcap 3-0 as the bats went cold.
The Big Green came out on fire offensively, lighting up Providence pitching for three runs in the first inning.
Sarah Damon '02 led off with a single to left and Cherie Comeau '02 then ripped a double, setting the table for Jenny Harsey '01 to drive in the first run of the game.
Sophomore Chiara Grabill singled to drive home Comeau, and then later came around to score herself, capping the big inning.
After a fast start, the Dartmouth bats went cold. The team managed just one more run the entire afternoon by virtue of a Kristin King single in the fifth.
As it turned out, they would not need any more offense as Laura Mills '00 did the rest with another solid pitching performance. Picking up where she left off last week against Quinnipiac, she fanned four and scattered just three hits over seven innings for her fourth win of the season.
Damon, Comeau, King and Erica Morgenstein '01 all had multi-hit games in the first game of the doubleheader.
In the nightcap, the Big Green hitters continued to struggle as they were no-hit by Friar hurler Heather Nathan. Nathan fanned six and upped her record to 3-12 on the season. She nearly had a perfect game but Carrie Sekela '01 reached first base on an infield error.
Sophomore Jenny Harsey expressed concern over the Big Green's hitting woes in the second contest.
"The pitcher had a lot of movement on her ball, but it was more that our bats went dead and our intensity was a little lower in the second game," she said.
The Friars scored two in the top of the first and one in the fifth to insure a victory. Kerri Jacklets pounded out three hits and drove in a run to lead the charge for Providence.
Stacy Sanders '02 was credited with the loss for the Big Green as she allowed nine hits and three runs in six innings pitched. However, none of the runs given up by Sanders were earned as the Big Green committed four errors in the second contest.
"We should have definitely picked it up our second time through the order," Harsey said of the team's late innings facing the formidable Nathan.
Grabill pitched one inning of scoreless, no-hit softball to close out the contest.
The Big Green moved to 6-9 on the season, while the Friars stand at 8-21.
Dartmouth travels to St. Anselm tomorrow for a doubleheader with the first pitch coming at 3:30 p.m.
This weekend the Big Green welcome two New England Ancient Eight foes to Sachem Field as Yale and Brown come to town.
Saturday's doubleheader against Brown begins at 1 p.m. while the pair of games against the Bulldogs starts at 12 noon on Sunday.
