Dartmouth Softball Has Rally Cut Short, Ends Season With Loss to Harvard

Sunday, May 2

Hanover, N.H.

2:00 p.m.

Dartmouth College

HARVARD (2)

Dartmouth Softball Has Rally Cut Short, Ends Season With Loss to Harvard

5/2/2010 6:00:00 PM | Softball

By: Dartmouth

Game One Boxscore
Game Two Boxscore

HANOVER, N.H. – The Dartmouth softball team took an early lead in the second game of a doubleheader on Sunday off a three-run home run by Leigha Clarkson (Perris, Calif.), her second of the day, but Harvard was able to come back and claim the win, 6-5 in eight innings, sweeping the Big Green after taking game one, 7-1.

In the opening game, the Crimson used two home runs in the top of the third to end a scoreless tie and plate four runs on three hits to take an early lead. A double by Whitney Shaw in the fourth added two more runs for the visitors. Another run in the top of the fifth gave Harvard the 7-0 lead.

Dartmouth was able to get one back off Clarkson's first home run of the day, a long ball over the fence in left field. The Big Green was not able to score any more, dropping the game, 7-1.

Hillary Hubert (Grant Park, Ill.) was 2-for-3 at the plate while Yee, Clarkson and Parker each had single hits. In the circle, Hillary Barker (Duvall, Wash.) went 4.2 innings with five strikeouts before being replaced by Kat Hicks (Templeton, Calif.).

In the nightcap it was Dartmouth that jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first frame. Nikki Yee (Martinez, Calif.) doubled to center field and moved to third off a sacrifice bunt by Kirsten Costello (Windsor, N.Y.). A double by Molly Khalil (Seal Beach, Calif.) plated Yee before Clarkson blasted her second long ball of the day, scoring two. With that homer, Clarkson tied classmate Costello as well as Jodee Thompson '05 for the single season home run record as each recorded seven.

Despite both sides getting hits in each inning, neither was able to put any more runs on the board until Harvard finally got one back in the top off the third as Melissa Schelberg singled to right field.

The in the top of the seventh the Crimson bats came alive, scoring four to take a 5-3 lead as Shaw hit her second home run of the day. The Big Green came to bat in the bottom of the inning with nothing to lose.

Alyssa Parker reached first after being plunked by pitcher Margaux Black. A one-out single by Audrey Kolodziej (Morton Grove, Ill.) moved Parker to second before Christy Autin (Harwood Heights, Ill.) singled to center, scoring Parker. Yee reached on an error after hitting back to Black, Kolodziej came home easily to score the tying run.

But in the top of the eighth two singles up the middle by Harvard, gave the visitors its second sweep of the Big Green in as many days.

Evan Gray (Edmond, Okla.) began the game in the circle for Dartmouth, going six innings and taking the loss. She was replaced by Hicks who finished the game as the two combined for three strikeouts. Rachel Brown started the game for the Crimson, going four innings before being replaced by Black. Brown struck out seven and give up Dartmouth's first three runs.

Clarkson was the only Big Green player to record multiple hits as she went 2-for-4 with one run scored and two RBIs. Yee, Khalil, Kolodziej, Autin and Noelle Ramirez (Pompton Plains, N.J.) each recorded one hit.

Dartmouth ended its season with a 14-27 overall record, 11-9 in the Ivy League. Harvard won the North Division title on Saturday and finished its regular season with a 24-20 record,15-3 in the Ivy League. Harvard will travel to Cornell next weekend to play for the Ivy League championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.