The Dartmouth softball team battled its way to a 6-4 record during the team's annual Florida spring trip before dropping both games of a doubleheader to Boston College on Saturday. The Big Green (7-8) will begin Ivy League play later this week.
Dartmouth rode strong pitching and improved overall play, especially from Kristen Rumley '15, who leads the team with a .474 season batting average and boasts a 2.39 ERA as the team's leader in innings pitched.
"Historically, Florida is not our best trip because we're playing against teams that have already played 36 games," co-captain Molly Khalil '12 said. "Coming out with a winning record, it's a nice notch on our belt."
The Big Green scored wins against top-tier teams during the Florida trip, including a 7-6 come-from-behind victory against the University of North Texas, a game that required extra innings to settle the score.
Dartmouth fell behind 5-0 early in the game before rallying to tie the score with a five-run offensive burst in the fourth inning.
After trading runs to move the score to 6-6, Dartmouth pulled out the win on a squeeze play in the bottom of the eighth. Morgan Wharton '13 scored the winning run on a bunt from Kara Curosh '14.
"The team was so ecstatic," Khalil said. "That was our first extra inning game it just shows our team has a lot of fight."
Khalil said the result was even more impressive given that the Florida portion of the schedule represents Dartmouth's toughest stretch of opponents.
"That's why we come here, to start the season off with the best competition we can," Khalil said.
The fast-paced schedule of 10 games in seven days a sudden burst of play to start off the Big Green's season may have hampered the team's ability to properly prepare and maintain focus, resulting in missed opportunities.
The Big Green dropped two consecutive games on March 18, losing 9-1 to the University of North Florida and 2-1 to Florida A&M University.
"Everyone was really tired because that was our third day of games in a row," Khalil said. "We took playing for granted and didn't get pumped up."
Traveling back to the Northeast, Dartmouth took on Boston College in a doubleheader on Saturday.
The Big Green took an early 1-0 lead in game one when Meghan Everett '12 hit the team's first home run of the season. The Eagles countered with runs in the fifth and sixth innings to take the game with a final score of 2-1.
The Big Green offense continued to struggle in the second game of the doubleheader, leading to a lopsided 11-0 loss.
The packed schedule allowed little time for practice or preparation for facing different types of pitchers.
"We could definitely work on figuring pitchers out and adjustments at the plate," Khalil said. "We haven't seen a lot of live pitching but you get back in the groove of it."
Dartmouth will have detailed scouting reports of upcoming opposing pitchers in the Ivy League, giving both younger and older members of the team ample time to prepare for the intra-league portion of the schedule.
"We're defining who we're going to be," Khalil said.
At the start of the year, head coach Rachel Hanson broke the season up into different "phases" to encourage the team to focus on small, attainable goals.
The team is currently in the "define" phase, or phase four, according to Khalil.
"I think our team is looking really good this season, tons of energy, and that's really invigorating," Khalil said. "Our team is really coming together nicely."
The Big Green is scheduled to face the University of Massachusetts on Tuesday before heading off for a pair of doubleheader games against Princeton University and Cornell University over the weekend.
