Softball Splits with Yale, Takes Three-of-Four on the Weekend

Sunday, April 17

New Haven, Conn.

12:30 PM

Dartmouth College

Yale

Softball Splits with Yale, Takes Three-of-Four on the Weekend

4/17/2011 8:00:00 PM | Softball

By: Dartmouth

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Dartmouth (14-15, 7-5) softball team split with Yale (14-18, 6-6) on Sunday but came away with three-out-of-four wins against the Bulldogs this weekend. The Big Green now sits in second place in the Ivy League North Division. Yale scored twice in the bottom of the seventh inning in the first game to escape with a 3-2 victory but Dartmouth came back to take the nightcap, 7-5.

"It was great this weekend," said head coach Rachel Hanson. "We're trying to play to put ourselves into position to make a run for it and we can do that if we we continue to play well. Defensively we had some great highlights today and had some players really make those plays needed to help us win games."

Dartmouth started things off in the first game by scoring two runs on one hit in the top of the first innings. A bases loaded walk to Kat Hicks plated the first run while Alex St. Romain was also walked to bring another run home.

The Big Green stranded six through the next six innings but Yale's starting pitcher Chelsey Dunham was able to get Dartmouth to either ground out or strikeout.

Katie Yanagisawa was the hero for the home team by scoring the winning run on a passed ball in the bottom of the seventh. A fielders choice and two straight walks loaded the bases before another walk forced home the tying run while Yanagisawa raced home with the winning run when a pitch eluded Dartmouth catcher Molly Khalil.

Dunham finished with eight strikeouts and allowed only four hits in the victory. In the circle for the Big Green, Evan Gray went six innings with just one earned run while recording four strikeouts. Hicks came on in relief and picked up the loss.

Ramirez was the only player to have more then one hit as she was 2-for-3 with the one run.

Yale outhit Dartmouth 6-4 in the game.

The Bulldogs had a 9-6 edge in hits in the second game, but the Big Green made the most of its opportunities as Noelle Ramirez and Hillary Barker each blasted home runs to help the Big Green win its seventh Ivy League game of the season.

Barker's two-run shot in the fifth gave Dartmouth a 6-2 lead as the Big Green scored again in the sixth and seemed to be on its way to a comfortable win before Yale again staged another rally.

A two-run single capped a three-run rally in the bottom of the sixth to cut the deficit to 7-5 before the Bulldogs then got the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the seventh but couldn't capitalize.

Dartmouth scored runs in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth to take an 8-2 lead going into the bottom of the sixth.

In the fourth inning the Big Green put three across when St. Romain doubled to left field bringing in the first run. A throwing error brought St. Romain and Katie Adams home.

In the fifth, thanks to a double by Hicks and Barker's home run Dartmouth added to its lead.

Barker, the Big Green's starting pitcher felt the pressure in the bottom of the seventh after Yale had tallied three runs in the sixth to be down by just two runs. The junior was able to get three to fly out to preserve the victory and earn her eighth win of the season. She went the complete game and just two earned runs.

Hicks was the only Dartmouth player to have multiple hits as when 2-for-4 with two runs scored on the day. Four other players had one hit in the game.

Dartmouth will be back in action on Wednesday with a doubleheader at Albany beginning at 3 p.m.