The Big Green (18-17, 8-4 Ivy) remains tied with Harvard University for first place in the Northern Division of the Ivy League as they dismantled the Bears (7-22, 1-11 Ivy) with excellent pitching and timely hitting.
Rumley burned through Brown's lineup all weekend, allowing only two runs in 25 hyper-efficient innings. She threw four complete games, had 19 strikeouts and gave up only six hits on the weekend.
"Kristen was phenomenal," head coach Rachel Hanson said. "She really knows how to keep hitters off-balance, and she did that all day."
Dartmouth won Saturday's first game of the day 5-1 and the second 10-0. The Big Green jumped ahead quickly in the first, with three runs in the bottom of the second inning. First baseman Morgan McCalmon '16 scored the first of her runs on the weekend when she was knocked in by designated hitter Kathy Dzienkowski '16. Catcher Alex St. Romain '14 followed up with a triple and then scored on a sacrifice fly.
"It definitely helped to have early run support," Rumley said. "It's good to know I have a lead and can throw what I want, when I want."
Brown answered with one run in the top of the fourth, but Rumley and the Dartmouth defense shut down a larger threat. The Big Green then responded in the bottom of the fourth with another run on a double by McCalmon and an RBI single.
"It feels like the team is more confident when Kristen is on the mound," said Dzienkowski, who had seven hits and three RBIs on the weekend.
Rumley helped herself at the plate in the bottom of the fifth when she led off the inning with her first collegiate home run. She did not allow a hit for the final three innings of the game, and the Big Green coasted to victory.
"I never thought I would hit a home run in college," Rumley said. "After I hit it I was on a high, and it made the rest of the day pretty amazing."
The Big Green mercy-ruled Brown in five innings in the day's second game, as Rumley continued to mow down Bears hitters to the tune of one hit and no runs. The shutout was Dartmouth's first in the Ivy League this season. They controlled the late game from the start as well, scoring one run in the second inning, three in the third, and six in the bottom of the fourth to take a commanding 10-0 lead. Second baseman Hillary Hubert '13 and left fielder Brianna Lohmann '16 roughed up Brown's ace Sarah Ropiak and reliever Sam Brady throughout the afternoon.
"We were able to make great adjustments at the plate all day," Hanson said.
The Big Green ran Rumley back out to the mound again for Sunday's games, and once again she performed well. She pitched a three-hit shutout in a 5-0 game one win, and gave up only one run in a 9-1 six-inning victory late Sunday afternoon. Both Rumley and Hanson praised St. Romain for her work behind the plate.
"Alex called some great games," Hanson said. "She and Kristen had great chemistry."
The team of Rumley and St. Romain has been a successful the past.
"She caught me last year, and this year she always knows what pitch I want to throw," Rumley said. "We have a good relationship both off the field and behind the plate."
St. Romain also contributed at the plate on Sunday, hitting a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth to seal the Big Green's victory. Shortstop Katie McEachern '16 had two RBIs early in the game to give the offense a jump start.
Rumley allowed a first inning homerun to Brown's Tris Chavez in Sunday's last game, but then delivered another gem later on. The offense's balanced attack continued behind left-fielder Lohmann, who had a triple and three RBIs, third baseman Kelsey Miller '16 with two RBIs and the three-hit attack of Dzienkowski.
Before the weekend, Dartmouth had dropped its last five doubleheader back-ends. The team talked about how to overcome this obstacle before this weekend's games.
"We tried to switch things up and keep it loose," Dzienkowski said. "It worked today."
When asked about her goals for the weekend and the rest of the season, Rumley was not shy.
"We want to win the Ivies, and go further beyond that," she said.
