Big Green Power Their Way to Doubleheader Sweep

Saturday, May 4

Hanover, N.H.

12:30 PM

Dartmouth College

11-27, 0

Princeton

14-25, 0

Princeton

Dartmouth

Senior Morgan Martinelli

Photo by: Doug Austin

Big Green Power Their Way to Doubleheader Sweep

5/4/2019 5:42:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Game 1 Box (PDF)Game 2 Box (PDF)

The Big Green hit four home runs on the day

By: Mike Miezejeski

HANOVER, N.H. – The Dartmouth softball team hit four home runs in Saturday's doubleheader sweep of Princeton. The Big Green rallied for a seven-run sixth inning to take game one, 8-6. They then exploded for 12 runs on 14 hits and Morgan Martinelli capped it off with a walk-off homer to propel Dartmouth to a 12-4 victory in five innings.

This marks the second time that the Big Green (12-27, 9-11 Ivy) have swept an Ivy League Saturday doubleheader, while the Tigers (14-26, 10-10 Ivy) have now been swept twice in Ivy doubleheaders.

Game One:
Dartmouth fell behind, 4-0, after the first four and half innings and rallied for a seven-run sixth to come back and take the game one victory.

McKenna Gray finished 2-3 at the plate with a solo homer and two runs scored. Calista Almer was 2-3 with two RBIs and a run scored, while Morgan Ebow and Micah Schroder each drove in two runs for the Big Green.

Brooke Plonka earned the win in a relief appearance, she did not allow an earned run on two hits and struck out two batters.

Princeton got the offense started in the first inning with an RBI double to give the Tigers a 1-0 advantage.

After three scoreless innings in the circle from Shelby Wilkison, the Tigers extended their lead to 4-0 in the fifth on two doubles and a single.

Gray boosted the Dartmouth offense by taking the first pitch of the bottom of the fifth over the left field fence, cutting the deficit to 4-1.

Dartmouth used a two-out rally to score seven runs in the sixth and take the lead for good. Schae Nelson and Tatyanah Castillo each drew walks and Loghan Thomas laced a base hit to left to score Nelson. Ebow then singled to plate two more runs and Calista Almer followed with an RBI base knock to bring around two more. Finally, Schroder drove home a couple more with a single to right to build the Big Green advantage to 8-4.

Two runs scored for Princeton on an error in the top of the seventh, but the Tigers could not capitalize and Plonka struck out the final batter of the game.

Game Two:
Morgan Martinelli launched her third home run of the season over the left field fence to earn a 12-4 walk-off win in five innings.

Micah Schroder helped her case for Ivy league Player of the Year with a 3-3 performance with a home run, four RBIs and two runs scored. Tatyanah Castillo was also a perfect 3-3 at the plate with two runs scored. Martinelli finished 2-3 with two RBIs and a run scored, while Taylor Ward put together a two-hit game with a three-run homer in the second.

For the second straight game, Princeton was the first to light up the scoreboard with two runs in the first inning on back-to-back singles.

Schroder answered with her seventh home run of the season in the bottom of the first. She took the second pitch she saw to deep left.

Five Big Green runs crossed the plate in the second. With one out Loghan Thomas, Castillo and McKenna Gray all singled and Morgan Ebow kept it going with a base knock of her own to bring in the first run. With the bases still loaded, Calista Almer hit a sacrifice fly that was deep enough for Castillo to tag and score. Ward finished the inning with three-run bomb to center, extending the advantage to 6-2.

Ebow brought home the seventh Big Green run in the third on a sacrifice fly. The Tigers then attempted to claw their way back into the game with two runs in their half of the fifth and cut the Dartmouth lead to 7-4.

The game finished in dramatic fashion in the bottom of the fifth. With two outs and the bases loaded, Schroder smacked a bases-clearing double to make it a 10-4 Big Green lead. Martinelli then stepped up to the plate and electrified Dartmouth Softball Park with a walk-off dinger to give the Big Green the victory.

The Big Green play their final game of the season on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. against Princeton in Hanover. Before the game, Dartmouth will celebrate its senior co-captains, Morgan Martinelli and Taylor Ward.