Originally, the Big Green was to play the Bears in doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday, but the forecast for Sunday called for heavy rain and winds. Subsequently, the Dartmouth College Athletic Department announced on Thursday, April 12, that the first doubleheader would start on Friday and the second was to be played on Saturday.
"Things were really up in the air," Angela Megaw '08 said. "We didn't know we were leaving Friday to play a game until Friday morning. Things were a little crazy but it didn't have an effect on our play."
Not only did Dartmouth (10-21, 6-6 Ivy) snap a six-game league losing streak, but the weekend success also moved the Big Green up in the Ivy League standings. Dartmouth is now second in the North Division, behind first-place Harvard, which sits atop the division with a 7-5 league record. Brown (7-23, 1-11 Ivy) is six games behind the Crimson in fourth place in the North.
Game two in the Friday doubleheader saw the Big Green's bats get going against Brown's pitching. Despite having trouble scoring runs in past Ivy contests, Dartmouth knocked around 11 hits and scored 13 runs to bury the Bears for the Big Green's first shutout since Saturday, March 31, in a 1-0 win over Columbia.
After a slow first inning, the Big Green picked up four runs in the second and third innings off RBIs from Leigha Clarkson '10, Nikki Yee '10 and Ashley Gleason '09. Gleason also scored off a fielding error in the third.
The Big Green then used a six-run fourth inning to lock up one of four wins over Brown in two days. Gleason capped her four-RBI, two-run day with her only hit of the afternoon, a three-run home run with one out. Kelly Fry '07 also went three for four with one RBI and three runs scored.
It was the first time this season that Dartmouth had beaten an opponent by virtue of the mercy rule.
In the circle, Megaw tossed her third shutout of the season and her 11th complete game. Brown's Michelle Moses took the tough loss with 10 earned runs and five walks issued.
On Saturday, the Big Green needed only a few opportunities to beat the Bears in a close game. With Clarkson and Katie Chifcian '09 on base in the second, Sarah Bankoff '08 connected for a hit. An error in the outfield allowed Clarkson and Chifcian to score to put Dartmouth in front 2-0.
Gleason scored from third base in the sixth inning when she beat the throw from the Brown pitcher after Alyssa Parker '10 made contact with the ball at the plate.
However, Brown would not go away and scored two runs off a bases-loaded single in the bottom half of the seventh inning. Megaw then relieved Stephanie Trudeau '09, forcing a groundout to third base to close the game and earn her first career save.
"Going into the seventh inning, coach asked if I was ready and I said I was, but I didn't think I was going in," Megaw said. "I was pretty confident because I had pitched well against them the day before, so I knew I could get out the one batter. Still, it was definitely a nerve-racking situation."
Trudeau picked up two wins in the series, yielding just three earned runs in 13 and two-thirds innings.
In the nightcap on Saturday, the Big Green picked up the offensive intensity once more with a three-run first inning. The Bears' defense helped out in this effort, as a bases-loaded error allowed all three runners to score to put Brown in an early hole.
After Brown got on the board with a run in the bottom of the second inning to make the game 4-1 in favor of Dartmouth, the Big Green scored a pair of runs in the next three innings. In the fifth, Bankoff blasted a triple scoreing one run, and in the sixth Chifcian connected for a two-RBI triple.
Yee had a strong second game, going four for five with two runs scored and one RBI. Megaw struck out four and allowed only one earned run, as the win increased her record to 3-8 on the year.
Megaw said once the offense got a few hits, it was hard for Dartmouth to stop scoring.
"We just rolled with it. Everybody's bats were looking good," she said. "[The offense] definitely built, it went from one person to the next person to the next. The batters were stepping into the box with a lot of confidence, which makes a huge difference."
Dartmouth travels to Storrs, Conn., to play the University of Connecticut on Wednesday, April 18, at 4 p.m. The Big Green returns to Ivy play on Saturday, April 21, with a doubleheader against Yale in Hanover at 1 p.m.
