Dartmouth Roundup: Big Green softball opens with style
Published: 03-28-2023 11:00 AM |
HANOVER — The Dartmouth College softball team opened both its home schedule and Ivy League play in style, twice coming from behind in the seventh inning for walk-off wins in completing a three-game sweep against Penn.
The Big Green (8-11, 3-0 Ivy League) trailed by two entering the bottom of the seventh in the first game of Friday’s doubleheader, but plated one run on an error before sophomore Alaana Panu launched a game-winning grand slam over the fence in right-center field, handing Dartmouth a 6-3 victory. Sophomore Rachel McCarroll went the distance for the Big Green in the circle, giving up three runs in the fourth inning but holding the Quakers (2-22, 0-6) scoreless otherwise.
Dartmouth needed no dramatics in Friday’s second game, breaking it open late for a 9-1 run-rule victory. Senior Kate Farren opened the scoring with a second-inning solo home run well over the wall in left-center, Panu doubled the lead with an opposite-field RBI single in the fifth, then Farren plated two more with a single of her own.
First-year Ashley Frantz delivered a two-run triple in the sixth and junior Kelly Beaupre hit a two-run blast to make it an 8-1 lead. The Big Green then reloaded the bases to set up first-year Allie Ohde’s infield single that ended the game early. Two more first-years, Stella Bale and Peyton Kanaly, combined to hold Penn to five hits, four of them singles.
Beaupre continued her power surge in Saturday’s 5-4 win, tying the game at 1 with a first-inning solo shot and giving Dartmouth the lead with a two-run homer in the third. The Quakers clawed back with a run in the fourth, another in the sixth and one more in the seventh to go back in front, but with runners at second and third in the bottom of the final frame, Panu again played hero, delivering a two-run single to left field as Beaupre scored just ahead of the tag for the winning run.
Panu was named Ivy League Player of the Week for her double dose of heroics.
“Alaana has been working so hard and trusting in the process all season,” Dartmouth coach Jen Williams said. “It’s great to see her start to hit her stride as we head into Ivies. Our whole team came up big at the plate when they needed to.”
McCarroll again pitched a complete game, scattering six hits and five walks and striking out five. The Big Green play a three-game series at Columbia this weekend.
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PRINCETON, N.J. — The Big Green played the Tigers tight in Friday’s 10-6 loss, but were overrun in both ends of Sunday’s doubleheader, 6-1 and 12-4.
After falling behind by four in the second inning Friday, Dartmouth (1-16, 0-3 Ivy League) stormed back to briefly take a 5-4 lead, using a two-run triple by senior James House and a run-scoring single by first-year Milo Suarez to pull within one in the third. House’s RBI single tied the game in the fifth, and a balk later that inning plated the go-ahead run.
Princeton (9-11, 3-0) used the long ball to put the game away, with two home runs by Kyle Vinci and another by Jake Bold putting the hosts comfortably ahead again. Sophomore Luke Carroll’s solo shot in the eighth was not nearly enough for the Big Green.
Carroll had Dartmouth’s lone RBI in Sunday’s first game on a bases-loaded walk in the second inning, but the Big Green bats were otherwise quiet. Vinci hit his third homer of the weekend in the fifth to help the Tigers pull away.
Dartmouth pitching could not tame Princeton in the series finale, either. House hit a two-run double and scored on a sacrifice fly in the fifth to trim the Big Green’s deficit to 5-4, but the Tigers scored seven unanswered runs from there to complete the sweep. Dartmouth will finally play at home this weekend as Penn visits Hanover for three games.
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The Big Green trailed by five entering the fourth quarter and made a late push, but it was not enough to take down the nationally-ranked Bulldogs on Saturday.
Dartmouth (2-5, 0-2 Ivy League) scored the game’s first two goals — first, an unassisted tally by first-year Samantha Bennett, and then freshman Catherine Erb scoring on an assist from senior Lucy Murray. After Yale responded with three straight to take the lead, Bennett’s second goal of the game tied things up after a quarter.
The Bulldogs (7-2, 2-0) dominated the second quarter, though, outscoring the Big Green 6-2 in the period and never trailing again. Dartmouth got two more goals from Erb and one each from Murray, sophomore Maja Desmond, junior Jenna Donohue and sophomore Katina Christensen.
Bennett and Murray each had two assists and Christensen, sophomore Boo Dewitt and first-year Maya Kendall had one apiece. Yale put 23 shots on goal to the Big Green’s 14, though Dartmouth had a 13-11 edge in draw control wins.
The Big Green are at No. 7 Boston College on Wednesday evening, then resume Ivy League play at home against Harvard on Saturday.