After taking game one 3-2 thanks to a two-run home run by Alyssa Parker '10, Dartmouth (16-23, 11-8 Ivy) saw its championship hopes vanish in heartbreaking fashion as Harvard (28-13, 13-6 Ivy) used a five-run sixth inning to take the nightcap 11-8.
Kelly Fry '07, playing for the last time at Sachem Field, had a memorable afternoon statistically. The senior notched a triple and two home runs, bringing her all-time Dartmouth record for home runs to 17.
After Harvard took a 4-3 lead in the second inning of game two off a grand slam by Lauren Murphy, the Big Green posted its own four-run rally in the latter half of the inning to take a 7-4 advantage.
An error by centerfielder allowed Christy Autin '10 to score the inning's first run after she stole second base. Fry then jacked her first home run of the game, a two-run shot with two-outs, and Nikki Yee '10 came home on an infield groundout by Parker.
Harvard added one run in the top of the third inning to cut the deficit to two runs. But in the sixth, the Crimson swung the momentum and score away from the Big Green and never looked back.
Angela Megaw '08 gave up a leadoff triple, and after intentionally walking the next batter the junior pitcher yielded a no-out RBI single up the middle. After an RBI groundout scored another runner from third, Megaw walked Julia Kidder to put runners at the corners. The next at-bat, Melissa Schellberg crushed a home run to left field to bring three runners home, putting Harvard ahead 10-7.
The Big Green tried to stage a late comeback, but a solo shot by Fry was not enough to overcome the deficit. Megaw fell to 6-9 on the year, and was charged with 11 earned runs while giving up 10 hits and two strikeouts.
In game one, Stephanie Trudeau '09 and Harvard's Shelly Madick turned the game into a pitching chess match. Madick came into the game with 14 wins this season thus far.
The Crimson got on the scoreboard early, and things did not look good for Trudeau in the early going. The sophomore righty hit the first batter on a 0-1 count, and after recording a full-count strikeout she hit another batter to load the bases with two outs. A wild pitch allowed the runner to score from third, but Trudeau fanned the next batter to get out of the jam.
From then on the two teams staged a defensive struggle. Dartmouth posted seven hits compared to Harvard's two, and the Big Green committed no errors while the Crimson had two defensive mishaps.
Dartmouth finally gave Trudeau run support in the bottom of the sixth inning, scoring three runs to push the Big Green to victory.
Ashley Gleason '09 managed to reach first base on a fielder's choice that forced Yee out at second base. Fry then blasted a triple to right field to bring Yee home. The next batter, Parker, followed with her team-leading sixth homerun to right center on a full-count before Katie Chifcian '09 ended the inning with a strikeout.
Harvard threatened in the top of the seventh, as Lauren Brown hit a one-out solo homer to right field to cut Dartmouth's lead to 3-2. Megaw, who came in for Trudeau, forced a pop-up foul out and a strikeout with two runners on, earning her second save of the year. Trudeau had seven strikeouts en route to her tenth win of the year.
Dartmouth played in its final game on Wednesday afternoon against the Crimson in Cambridge, Mass., to finish the rained-out game two from Saturday, April 28. The Big Green fell, 9-6, giving Harvard home-field advantage in the Ivy championships against Penn.
Members of the team were unavailable for comment at press time.
