Softball Opens 2015 Season in Sunny Florida at USF Tournament

THIS WEEK IN DARTMOUTH SOFTBALL

USF Wilson DeMarini Tournament

Fri., Feb. 20 vs. No. 16/17 Auburn – 10 a.m. – Live Stats
Fri., Feb. 20 vs. Marshall – 12:15 p.m. – Live Stats
Sat., Feb. 21 at South Florida – 12:15 p.m. – Live Stats | Live Video
Sat., Feb. 21 vs. Semifinals – TBA – Live Stats
Sun., Feb. 22 vs. TBA – TBA – Live Stats

USF Wilson DeMarini Tournament Central

SCOUTING REPORTS

Auburn - Auburn currently holds a perfect 13-0 record this year and is two wins away from tying for the best start in school history. Fresh off a 10-0 win over Georgia State on Wednesday, Auburn brings one of the most potent offenses in the SEC, leading the conference in runs scored (149), home runs (27) and RBI (135). This will be the first-ever meeting between Dartmouth and Auburn. Tiffany Howard leads the team with a .629 batting average with 22 hits in 35 at-bats. Emily Carosone leads the team with 227 RBIs and is tied with Jade Rhodes for the team lead with five home runs. Lexi Davis is 6-0 with a 2.33 earned run average in seven starts. Marcy Harper is 6-0 with a 2.49 ERA in six appearances.

Marshall - The Thundering Herd are off to a hot start this season, going 8-1 in their first nine games. They are led by reigning Conference USA Player of the Week and preseason all-conference selection Morgan Zerkle, who leads the Herd in nearly every offensive category. Marshall has also gotten a big boost from sophomore pitcher Jordan Dixon early on this year. Dixon owns victories in seven of the Herd's eight wins and has posted a 1.24 ERA to go along with 80 strikeouts already this season.

South Florida – The Bulls enter this weekend with a 6-4 record after going 3-2 at the USF Presidents Day Weekend Tournament. South Florida began the season winning three of five games at the USF Softball Classic. USF is 2-0 all-time against the Big Green. Lee Ann Spivey leads the squad with 10 runs batted in with 11 hits. Spivey also leads the team with five doubles in 10 games. Danna Devine is hitting .471 in 17 at-bats. Sam Greiner, Erica Nunn and Karla Claudio all have appeared in seven games inside the circle for the Bulls. Greiner and Susan Wysocki each have a pair of victories. Wysocki is the fourth pitching option for the hosts.

K-ZONE
Senior Kristen Rumley will go down as the best pitcher in program history when she rides off into the sunset at the end of the season. The Katy, Texas, native already owns program records in wins (46), strikeouts (533), appearances (95) and innings pitched (495.1), and last season set a number of single-season records — innings pitched (197.0), appearances (37) and strikeouts (197). Not only is she a force on the rubber, but an accomplished hitter. After three seasons, Rumley is second in Big Green history with a .337 batting average with 120 hits in 360 at-bats.

KEEP CALM AND MORGAN ON
Junior Morgan McCalmon was instituted as the primary designated player when Rumley took the ball but was also the second starter posting a 10-5 record with a 2.55 earned run average. The reigning Ivy League Player of the Year also grabbed two spots on the All-Ivy Team as a first-team selection at DP and a second-team honoree at pitcher. McCalmon secured three Ivy League Player of the Week awards with her .389 average to go with 27 RBIs.

KTMC SAN DIEGO
Junior Katie McEachern will once again command prime real estate at shortstop. The hard-hitting, San Diego native is the all-time home run queen with 18 jacks in two seasons. McEachern has led the team in each of the two last seasons with 10 and eight homers, respectively. She finished second behind McCalmon with a .333 batting average and also set the single-season doubles record last year with 15. If McEachern can duplicate her past success, she will be on pace to take over the doubles crown set by Sarah Damon '02, who swatted 41 two-baggers. Not only is McEachern third all-time in career batting average at .332, she also ranks ninth all-time with 102 hits and ninth with 68 RBIs.

DALLAS STAR
Junior Kelsey Miller had a tremendous sophomore campaign, finishing third in hitting with a .324 batting average, third in hits (44) and fifth in RBIs (21). The Mansfield, Texas, star was also third on the squad in slugging percentage (.493) and on-base percentage (.391). During the early part of the season, Miller picked up a pair of Ivy League Player of the Week awards, which helped move the team during a tough non-conference schedule. She also proved to be one of Dartmouth's better hitters with runners in scoring position. She sits ninth all-time hitting .302 with 85 career hits in 281 at bats. At third base, Miller is expected to have a solid season at the hot corner where she had 67 assists.

DA-MORE, MORE, MORE
Sophomore Maddie Damore made 46 starts at first base as a rookie and did a fine job with 329 putouts and just three errors for a .991 fielding percentage. At the plate, Damore will be remembered for her three home runs and seven RBIs against Yale on April 12, the best single-game outing for a Big Green hitter. This season she will look to improve on her .230 average, five home runs and 22 RBIs.

NEW STAFF
Shannon Doepking was named the sixth head coach of the Dartmouth softball program on Aug. 4, 2014. Doepking, a former standout catcher at the University of Tennesee made pit stops as an assistant at Stony Brook and Fairleigh Dickinson before taking over at Division III member Amherst. Doepking named former National Pro Fastpitch Defensive Player of the Year and a two-time Northeast Conference Player of the Year, Bianca Mejia her top assistant for the 2015 season. Ali Hart will stay on for her third season with the program after spending the first two under Rachel Hanson.

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Schedules