Dartmouth's softball team finished strong this weekend, sweeping Yale in a doubleheader on Sunday with scores of 5-3 and 5-2 after dropping two games to the Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon in Hanover.
Dartmouth (11-22, 7-9 Ivy) lost the first of Saturday's games to the Bulldogs (16-22, 4-12 Ivy) when Yale's Allie Canulli crossed the plate on a wild pitch to take a 10-9 lead in the top of the seventh inning.
In the nightcap, the Big Green was shut out 6-0 by Yale's Rebecca Wojciak, who allowed only five hits in seven innings of play.
The Big Green saw better outcomes on Sunday, when solid performances earned the team a 5-3 victory in the opener and a 5-2 win in the second game of the doubleheader.
After the weekend series, Dartmouth sits four games behind top-seeded Harvard (21-18, 12-4 Ivy) in the North Division of the Ivy League, while Yale sits in third place, seven games behind the Crimson and three games behind the Big Green.
Dartmouth jumped out to an early lead in game one of Saturday's doubleheader, scoring three runs off of three hits by Christy Autin '10, Katie Chifcian '09 and Audrey Kolodziej '11 in the bottom of the first inning.
After tagging another run on the board in the second inning, the Bulldogs threatened Dartmouth with three runs in the third inning, one on a wild pitch and the other on an error by Autin at shortstop.
Dartmouth answered with two runs in the bottom of the third inning and another in the fourth, taking a 7-3 lead heading into the fifth.
But Yale retaliated with a six-run rally in the next inning, accumulating seven hits while batting around to take a 9-7 lead. Dartmouth came back to tie the game in the next two innings, with an RBI from Chifcian and the help of a bases-loaded walk from Yale pitcher K.R. Ling.
A wild pitch from Stephanie Trudeau '09 allowed Yale to take the lead in the top of the seventh, and Dartmouth failed to retaliate in the bottom of the inning, giving Yale the 10-9 win.
The Big Green managed to put at least one run on the board in every inning of game one except the bottom of the seventh, when they needed it most.
The Big Green was unproductive at the plate in Saturday's second game, tallying just five hits in seven innings.
The game was scoreless through the first two innings, until the Bulldogs rallied for four runs off of four hits in the top of the third before tacking on a run in the fourth and another in the sixth.
Devin Lindsay '11, who was recently named Ivy League rookie of the week, lasted only two and a third innings before Trudeau took the mound in the third.
"We didn't take advantage of the hits that we had on Saturday, and that was the difference," co-captain Angela Megaw '08 said.
The Big Green picked up momentum on Sunday, however, and the team's two victories allowed Dartmouth to maintain its lead over Yale in conference standings.
Game one was scoreless until the fifth inning, when Yale's Megan Enyeart led off with a line drive home run to left field. Dartmouth claimed the lead in the bottom of the inning with a three-run homer from Chifcian and managed to hold on for the 5-2 win.
Megaw, who pitched six scoreless innings in the opener, attributed her success to a change in strategy.
"[Saturday] they weren't hitting solidly, they were just able to put the ball into play," she said. "Today I was trying to keep the balls lower so that the bloop hits would be on the ground instead, and I think that strategy was effective."
The Big Green started strong again in Sunday's nightcap, gaining a two-run lead in the bottom of the first before tacking on runs in the second and fifth innings.
On the mound, Lindsay managed to get herself out of a few jams late in the game to hold onto the Big Green lead.
"[On Sunday] we were having more fun playing, instead of the worrying about the little things," co-captain Ashley Gleason '09 said. "We had fun and did what we were supposed to do."
Megaw also noted that the team's attitude improved for Sunday's games.
"We felt like we were in control," she said. "Everyone was feeling really loose and confident in our play and that's what we've been striving for."
The Big Green will face off against non-conference opponent Boston College on Wednesday in Hanover, before taking on division rival Harvard in a back-to-back doubleheader next weekend.
"Our games against Harvard are always the biggest of the year," Megaw said. "If we can take the momentum of [Sunday] into this weekend I think we really have a chance."
