Dartmouth Opens Ivy Play with Columbia and Penn

Columbia / Penn

Saturday, April 1 at Columbia – 12:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 1 at Columbia – 2:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 2 at Penn – 12:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 2 at Penn – 2:30 p.m.

THIS WEEKEND'S GAMES
After an extended West Coast swing the Dartmouth softball team returns east to open Ivy League play with a pair of games at Columbia and Penn.

SCOUTING THE QUAKERS
Penn heads into this weekend's series with the best non-conference record among the Ancient Eight teams. The 9-8 Quakers recently recorded a pair of shutout victories at home over Rider after losing two games to Iona. Leah Allen leads Penn's offense with 23 hits in 60 at bats, for a .383 average. She also leads the team with four doubles and 35 total bases. In the circle, Alexis Sargent is 5-4 with a 2.27 ERA and currently leads the Ivy League with 60 strikeouts.

SCOUTING THE LIONS
Columbia also brings a two-game win streak into the first Ivy weekend after the Lions defeated Monmouth in their home opening double header. Madison Gott has supplied much of Columbia's offense batting .429 with a team-best 27 hits and 14 RBIs. Gott also leads the Ancient Eight with five homers in 20 games played. In the circle, a trio of hurlers have shared pitching duties. Erin Gallo leads the Lions with a 2.78 ERA, while Madison Canby has recorded a team-high three victories.

THREE STRIKES AND YOU'RE OUT
Dartmouth junior Breanna Ethridge has found success in the circle this season. The Loganville, Georgia native is second in the Ivy League in strikeouts, having fanned 46 batters in 14 appearances. She also leads the Big Green with seven complete games and 70 innings of work.

GOING YARD
Dartmouth's Chloe Madill has been hitting the ball well as conference play begins. She leads the Big Green with three home runs and is in a four-way tie for second in the Ancient Eight in the offensive category.

S-E-C, S-E-C, S-E-C
All three members of the Dartmouth coaching staff have ties to the Southeastern Conference. Doepking played four seasons at Tennessee, helping the Lady Vols to an impressive 246-46 (.842) record from 2005-08, she also played in three consecutive Women's College World Series from 2005-07. Returning for her third season in Hanover is Molly Fichtner who graduated from Alabama in 2014. As a catcher for the Crimson Tide, Fichtner appeared in 102 games, starting 88. As a senior Fichtner reached the Women's College World Series and was named to the All-SEC Second Team. Joining the staff this year is Jackie Traina, who also is an Alabama graduate and former teammate of Fichtner. In 2012, Traina helped the Crimson Tide win its first National Championship, earning Women's College World Series MVP honors. Traina was also a member of the USA National Team in 2012, 2014 and 2015, where she won a gold medal at the World Cup of Softball in 2015.

ILDN
All of Dartmouth's home games in 2017 will be broadcast live in high definition on the Ivy League Digital Network with Brett Franklin on the call. Fans can sign up for the conference's video streaming and on-demand content to follow the Big Green all spring. Ivy League road games (when available) will also be broadcast.

FOLLOW ALONG
Can't make it to the games? DartmouthSports.com will provide live stats for those looking to follow along during the contests. Both games at Penn will also be streamed live in HD on the Ivy League Digital Network for subscribers.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Big Green will return home to Hanover for the first time in 2017 when Dartmouth hosts Cornell next Friday before welcoming Princeton to the Granite State on Saturday.

Schedules