Minutewomen junior pitcher Sara Plourde threw her seventh career no-hitter and struck out 16 Dartmouth players in the first game.
The Big Green (5-10) won three of its eight games during the Florida trip, where top performers included Meghan Everett '12, Molly Khalil '12, Katie Adams '13 and pitcher Evan Gray '13. Everett and Khalil each collected 10 hits in Florida, while Adams had six on the trip and recorded a 1.143 slugging percentage. Gray pitched two victories and registered a total of 14 strikeouts.
The Big Green attempted to carry over positive energy from the training trip to the team's performance against UMass, and Gray continued her success against the Minutewomen (11-14) in pitching the first game. She held strong against the UMass offense, allowing one run in the game.
UMass only managed four hits in six innings and Gray allowed just two walks.
"I was excited to just have a really smooth pitching game before Ivy League play," Gray said. "I'm hoping the team does well [in League play] we're looking forward to the competition."
Plourde topped Gray's performance, however, allowing just three base runners in the seven-inning performance. UMass freshman Tiffany Meeks scored the lone run for the Minutewomen.
UMass was not as dominant in the second game, allowing Dartmouth two runs, but the Minutewomen capitalized on a three-run homerun by freshman Lindsey Webster and collected 12 hits in the effort.
It wasn't until the sixth inning when Kara Curosh '14 and Alex St. Romain '14 scored on a hit by Hillary Barker '12 that Dartmouth began to rally against the Minutewomen's 6-0 lead.
Barker also pitched six innings for the Big Green. Plourde and UMass freshman Caroline Raymond combined to allow just two Dartmouth hits in the game.
The Minutewomen are coming off of a successful 2010 season, in which the team won its 22nd Atlantic 10 championship, compiling a 42-10-1 record and advancing to its 16th straight NCAA tournament.
Dartmouth has also traditionally struggled against UMass, which now holds a 10-0-1 all-time record against the Big Green. The Minutewomen shut out Dartmouth, 5-0, when they last played in 2009.
Everett is currently the leading hitter for Dartmouth, compiling a .429 batting average in 10 games. The Big Green has collected seven home runs and 18 base hits this season.
Dartmouth begins its conference matchups this weekend, playing Columbia University on Friday and the University of Pennsylvania on Saturday.
Dartmouth plays Columbia (8-15) in New York City at 2 p.m. on Friday, before playing UPenn (8-9) in Philadelphia at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
