Big Green Travel to Harvard to Battle for First Place

GAMES 30-32
Dartmouth Big Green (15-14, 9-3 Ivy League) vs.
Harvard Crimson (18-12, 11-4 Ivy League)
Saturday, April 21 doubleheader starting at 12:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 22 single game starting at 12:30 p.m.

THIS WEEKEND'S SERIES
This weekend is a battle for first place as the Dartmouth softball team travels to take on Harvard in a three-game series starting Saturday.

SCOUTING THE CRIMSON
Harvard is coming off a sweep of Penn last weekend, ending with an 8-2 win in the series finale on Sunday afternoon. The Crimson were slated to host Bryant in a midweek game but it was canceled due to field conditions following the winter storm that brought rain. Harvard had been in first place of the conference until this week when the Big Green took the top spot. Maddy Kaplan leads the Crimson offense with a .441 batting average through 93 at-bats, she also leads the team in RBIs with 28. Leading the pitching staff is Sarah Smith with a 2.55 ERA, through 35.2 innings pitched she has allowed 33 hits and 16 runs while striking out 18. The Crimson lead the Ivy League in team batting average with 2.99 and is second in pitching with a team ERA of 3.59 as Smith also leads the conference in ERA.

LAST TIME AGAINST HARVARD
In 2017 the Big Green were unable to take a win away from Harvard, falling in all four games. Last season the two teams faced off for the North Division title to play in the Ivy League Championship Series in the end of April with Harvard securing the slot. In the finale of the four-game series, Dartmouth fell 8-0 as the home team scored seven runs in the bottom of the second and held the road team scoreless.

LAST TIME OUT
The Big Green are coming off a big win over Cornell at home on Tuesday afternoon, after the game was postponed from the weekend. A handful of players contributed to the strong performance from the home team, with Tiffany Dyson, Taylor Ward and Schae Nelson each scoring two runs. Nelson and Calista Almer both batted in three runs as well. Senior Breanna Ethridge pitched four innings, allowing three hits and striking out five before freshman Shelby Wilkison came in to close the fifth inning with three strikeouts to end the game. Dartmouth took a 1-0 lead in the second, before tallying five runs in the third and then four in the fourth. The Big Red were only able to get three hits the entire game and the farthest any runner advanced to was second base.

FRESHMEN STANDING OUT
Four members of the class of 2021 have been making strides through their first collegiate season playing in the green and white. Last week Schae Nelson received Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors following her performance against Princeton. The rookie has played in 24 games so far, with 60 at-bats she has recorded 16 hits and 10 runs including 11 RBIs, two doubles and three home runs. Along with Nelson, McKenna Gray has been another offensive contributor for the Big Green. In 26 games she has had 62 at-bats, producing 16 hits and scoring 10 runs, with seven RBIs, five doubles and one home run. Wilkison is currently second on the pitching staff with a 3.13 ERA through 60 innings pitched, joined by fellow freshman Heather Turner who has a 4.59 ERA through 42.2 innings.

LEAGUE LEADERS
Following the sweep of Cornell, Dartmouth took first place in the conference after being tied with the Big Red for second place before the series began. While Harvard is in second place, Columbia remains a threat depending on how this weekend's series ends. Cornell and Princeton are tied for fourth with a 6-6 record each, while Penn, Yale and Brown round out the standings respectively. The Big Green, as a team, are eighth in batting but lead the league in pitching with a team ERA of 3.29. Ward is tied for first in home runs with seven, while Ethridge is third in the league with a 2.73 ERA and tied for second with 71 strikeouts.

WATCH THE ACTION
All three games this weekend will be streamed on the Ivy League Network for subscribers, the ILN is available on Apple TV, Roku and the ILN App for Android and Apple devices. Live stats will be provided by GoCrimson.com.

LOOKING AHEAD
Dartmouth hosts Yale next weekend in a three-game series starting on Saturday with a doubleheader and a single game slated for Sunday afternoon.

Schedules