Dartmouth Softball Gets First Win of the Season at Buzz Classic

Saturday, March 6

Woodstock, Ga.

4:00 p.m.

Dartmouth College

Western Carolina

Dartmouth Softball Gets First Win of the Season at Buzz Classic

3/6/2010 7:00:00 PM | Softball

By: Dartmouth

Western Carolina Boxscore
Georgia State Boxscore

WOODSTOCK, Ga. – The Dartmouth softball team won its first game of the 2010 season with a 4-0 blanking of Western Carolina on the second day of the Buzz Classic hosted by Georgia Tech University. In the nightcap the Big Green couldn't keep the momentum going, falling to Georgia State, 11-2.

Against Western Carolina, Dartmouth strung together its four runs off nine hits, scoring in the second, fourth, fifth and sixth innings. In the circle Hillary Barker (Duvall, Wash.) earned her first win of the year with the shutout. The sophomore went the complete game, allowing just four hits while striking out five. She retired the first five WCU batters before allowing the first hit in the second inning but a flyout left the runner stranded. Barker did not give up an extra base hit and the only runner the Catamounts had that advanced made it to third on two sacrifice hits.

For the Big Green, Leigha Clarkson (Perris, Calif.) began the second with a leadoff home run to plate the first run. Then a walk to left field by Clarkson in the fourth had Dartmouth with runners and first and second. A fielders choice by Barker moved Clarkson to second before a single by rookie Hillary Hubert (Grant Park, Ill.) allowed Clarkson to record her second run of the contest.

In the fifth, Kirsten Costello (Windsor, N.Y.) led off with a walk, advanced on a stolen base and came home on a wild pitch. In the sixth Barker put Dartmouth's fourth run on the board. She recorded a one-our single to right field before moving to third on a Hubert double. A single by Audrey Kolodziej (Morton Grove, Ill.) plated Barker. Clarkson looked like she was going to add another run when she singled in the seventh but stayed stranded at first.

Clarkson was stellar, going 3-for-4 with two runs and one RBI.

In the nightcap, Georgia State jumped on the board quickly with two runs in the first inning but Dartmouth came right back and matched the run total in bottom half of the inning.

Nikki Yee (Martinez, Calif.) knocked a one-out single before freshman Noelle Ramirez (Pompton Plains, N.J.) brought her home with her first collegiate home run to left field. The Big Green looked to add some more runs when Alyssa Paker (Spring Valley, Calif.) was put on base with a two-out walk and went all the way to third off a double by Hubert. But unfortunately Paker was run down at home to end the inning.

Dartmouth would go down in order the next two innings while GSU put across three more in the third before getting four more in the sixth to account for all the scoring.

A single by Kolodziej in the fifth had the Big Green with its first runner on since the opening frame. She would be out on a fielders choice as Meghan Everett (Flemington, N.J.) got put on base and got left at second. Dartmouth went down in three in the sixth to end the game.

In the circle freshman Evan Gray (Edmond, Okla.) got her first start of the season going the entire game with one strikeout. Elizabeth Thomas picked up the win for Georgia State, allowing four Dartmouth hits while striking out just one Big Green batter.

The Big Green will be back in action on Sunday, March 7 with another pair of games in the Buzz Classic. Dartmouth will take on Winthrop at 9:00 am and then host Georgia Tech at 11:00 am.