The Dartmouth softball team capped a grueling week by splitting doubleheaders with Brown and Yale this weekend at Sachem Field. On both Saturday and Sunday, the Big Green suffered disappointing game-one losses, but rebounded to win the nightcaps.
Sophomore Erica Morgenstein '01 said she was excited about the resiliency the team showed this weekend.
"We had some rough starts and kind of messed up in the first couple games we had, but we came back pretty strong," Morgenstein said. "We showed that once we got down we wouldn't stay down."
In the first game on Saturday, Brown eked out a 3-2 victory. Laura Mills '00 pitched a solid game and fanned a season-high 13, but the Big Green bats could not come through with enough run support. Carrie Sekela '01 and Erica Morgenstein '01 had the only RBIs for Dartmouth.
In the second game, the Dartmouth hitters came to life. They exploded for five runs in the first and continued the onslaught with three runs in the fourth and one in the fifth to record a 9-1 victory. The game only lasted five innings before the eight-run mercy rule went into effect.
Junior Stacy Sanders, who scattered a run and six hits over five innings, picked up the win and moved to 4-3 on the season.
On Sunday, Yale routed Dartmouth 9-1 in the first game of the doubleheader. Bulldog rightfielder Ginger Dunn went yard early as Mills was shelled for five runs in the first inning. It was all downhill from there. Sarah Damon '02 plated the only Dartmouth run, an RBI single in the fifth.
Once again, the Big Green bounced back from a tough loss to win the nightcap, 3-1.
The Big Green started slow, falling behind 1-0 in the first inning. But one run was all the Bulldogs would get, thanks to the strong arm of Stacy Sanders, who put together a dominating complete game performance.
The Dartmouth bats finally came alive in the fourth. Kristin King '02 tripled to get things going before scoring on sophomore Jenny Harsey's single, and Damon also picked up an RBI.
Sanders pitched well enough to allow the Big Green to record their first ever victory against Yale.
This week, Dartmouth will face non-conference opponents Hartford and UVM before traveling to Princeton and Penn this weekend. They will have to continue solid play in both the first and second games if they hope to compete for the Ivy league crown.
The team is hopeful about their chances this weekend.
"We are looking to come at them just as hard as we did in the second games against Brown and Yale and play the way we know how," King said.
Since Dartmouth has never before beaten Princeton, a victory this weekend would be a big step for Big Green softball.
