Softball Hosts Brown This Weekend in Pivotal Ivy Series

THIS WEEK IN DARTMOUTH SOFTBALL

The Dartmouth softball team is looking to extend its three-game cushion over fellow North Division foe Harvard this weekend then the Big Green welcome Brown to Hanover for a four-game set.

Sat., Apr 18 - Brown vs. Dartmouth - 12:30 p.m.// 2:30 p.m. // ILDN // Live Stats
Sun., Apr 19 - Brown vs. Dartmouth - 12:30 p.m.// 2:30 p.m. // ILDN // Live Stats

Brown Preview — Fresh off a mid-week loss to Providence, the Bears are looking to make noise late in the season and play the same role they did in the previous Dartmouth/Brown episode: Streak Snapping. To its credit, Brown has played all season without go-to player Christina Andrews who had a fine rookie campaign. Middle infielder Janet Leung leads the squad, hitting .384 with 33 hits and nine runs batted in. Freshmen Yeram Park and Emily Springfield each have 14 RBIs apiece but are strikeout prone. Not only does Brown rely on its young hitters, but rookie Katie Orona has taken the top spot in the rotation and is 6-7 but sports a manageable 2.45 earned run average. Jessica Cherness is 3-5 with a 3.69 ERA along with Leah Nakashima, who is 1-4. Both will see time inside the circle at some point over the weekend.

All-Time Records — Dartmouth holds a 36-21 record against the Bears. Over the past 10 games, Dartmouth is 6-4. Last season, Brown snapped the Big Green's 16-game winning streak in the finale of the four-game set.

Ivy Standings — With eight games remaining in the league schedule and the Big Green holding a three-game edge over the Crimson, Dartmouth's magic number to clinch the North Division is six.

Big Green Crack Top 100 — Dartmouth is 90th in the latest RPI ranking, nearly 100 spots ahead of its closest Ivy League foe in North Division rival Harvard (194). South Division leader Penn is at 201 followed by Princeton at 207.

National Player Rankings — Dartmouth ranks in the top-20 in seven statistical categories led by junior Katie McEachern with six and Rumley with one. McEachern is fifth in on-base percentage (.615), eighth in hit by pitches per game (.39), 12th in slugging percentage (.953),14th in doubles per game (.39), runs per game (1.23) and 18th in batting average (.471). Rumley is 15th in shutouts with six.

Making The Case — After claiming both the Ivy League Player and Pitcher of the Year Awards last season, Dartmouth is putting up a good fight to keep both trophies in the family once again. McEachern leads the league in batting average (.471), home runs (9), walks (20), runs scored (38) total bases (81)and doubles (12). The 2013 Ivy Rookie of the Year has increased her numbers since arriving in Hanover. If McEachern is named Player of the Year, she will join Princeton's Angela Tucci and Cornell's Lauren May as the third player to win both Rookie and Player of the Year. No player has ever won all three major awards. Rumley is looking to be the first-ever three-time Ivy Pitcher of the Year. The Dartmouth ace leads the league in wins (11) and innings pitched (119.1). She is also the only player this season to toss a no-hitter.

Yale Recap — The Big Green extended their winning streak to 10 games and lengthened their lead in the Ivy League North standings to three games over Harvard with eight contests remaining. Dartmouth outscored the Bulldogs 36-3 in the four-game series. Senior Kristen Rumley and junior Morgan McCalmon combined to strikeout the Bulldogs 26 times, with McCalmon recording 17 in 14 innings of work. Sophomore Karen Chaw hit .638 with seven hits in 11 at bats. McCalmon led the squad with nine runs batted in and hit a pair of homers with Chaw.

Schedules