The losses came after promising results last weekend that saw Dartmouth split a four-game series against Ivy League rival Brown University in Providence, R.I. This weekend was the first time all season that Dartmouth was shut out in both games of a doubleheader.
During the first game of the day, the only base runner for the Big Green came in the top of the seventh inning when Kara Curosh '14 singled to left field. Dartmouth was locked in a defensive battle against Albany early in the game, but the Great Danes opened up a 2-0 lead in the fourth and added two insurance runs in the sixth inning. The lead was more than enough for Albany starter Brittany MacFawn, who pitched all seven innings for the win.
"[Albany was] certainly a good team I don't want to take that away from them, their left fielder [Diane MacDowell] in particular," head coach Rachel Hanson said. "This is a game of luck. Some days you hit the ball hard, but you have line drives at people."
While the game was a struggle for Dartmouth's offensive unit, the Big Green freshman pitchers gave the Great Danes all they could handle. Left-hander Kristen Rumley '15 fanned 12 batters one shy of the Dartmouth single-game record to move her into third place on Dartmouth's single-season record list with 107 strikeouts.
"Kristen just looked sharp from start to finish," Hanson said. "She's been working on different aspects of her mechanics."
Along with Rumley, pitcher Rachel Hein '15 had an impressive showing in the second game. Hein gave up no runs and no hits in three innings coming in as a relief pitcher. Hillary Barker '12 started the second game and completed three innings, allowing four runs on six hits with three strikeouts before being replaced by Hein.
"At this level, you definitely have to mix up the pitches because if the hitters see too much of a pitch, they'll start teeing off," Hein said.
Dartmouth's offensive unit got off to a slow start in the second game once again, going hitless through the first three innings. The Great Danes did not waste any time getting on the board as they scored once in the first before putting up three more runs in the third on four hits.
Big Green batters had a better overall outing in the second game than in the first. Kat Hicks '12 hit a leadoff double in the third inning but was left stranded on second base. Katie Adams '13 added a single in the fifth inning, and Hillary Hubert '13 added the final hit of the game for the Big Green to lead off the seventh inning. Unfortunately for the Big Green, the team could not convert any of those base hits into runs as the Great Danes secured the second shutout of the day.
"Albany is definitely a really good team, and we knew that going in," center fielder Meghan Everett '12 said. "We played well against them, and we had some really good moments. It was just a good game against a really good team."
The remaining spring schedule has Dartmouth matched up against some familiar Ivy League foes. The Big Green will host Yale University this weekend for a four-game series starting on Saturday.
Next week, Dartmouth will stay at home to host Boston College in a doubleheader on Wednesday before traveling to Boston, Mass. on Saturday to play the first two games of a four-game set against Harvard University. Dartmouth will finish off its season that weekend against Harvard when it hosts the Crimson (24-11, 11-1 Ivy) in the last two games of the series in Hanover.
"No matter who we're playing, we're just trying to play the same way," Everett said. "We're just really trying to keep that positive attitude."
Staff writer Noah Reichblum '15 contributed reporting to this article.
