Dartmouth Gives No. 12 Kentucky All it Can Handle

Sunday, March 1

Longwood, Fla.

11:35 AM

Dartmouth College

4-6

Kentucky

17-3

Kentucky

Dartmouth

Morgan Ebow softball action versus Virginia Tech

Senior Morgan Ebow

Photo by: Michael Wiser

Dartmouth Gives No. 12 Kentucky All it Can Handle

3/1/2020 2:30:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

Brooke Plonka struck out eight batters in seven innings

By: Mike Miezejeski

LONGWOOD, Fla. – The Dartmouth softball team faced its biggest challenge of the season thus far in No. 12 Kentucky and battled the Wildcats to one of their closest games in 2020.

Despite the 4-0 defeat, the Big Green (4-6) were the first team in The Spring Games to hold the Wildcats (17-3) under 10 runs. It was the first time since Feb. 14 against No. 22 Arizona State that Kentucky scored four or less runs, and it was the third time this season the 'Cats were held to four runs or fewer.

Brooke Plonka (1-3) earned the starting nod in the circle. She struck out eight batters in seven innings and only gave up two earned runs, four total, on four hits.

All of the Kentucky runs scored via the home run, with two solo shots and a two-run bomb.

Billie McFadyen went 2-for-4 at the plate with a pair of singles. Tatyanah Castillo doubled in the fifth, while Abby Shipley and Regan Weekly each notched base hits.

After Plonka began the game with two strikeouts in the first, Kentucky's Mallory Peyton put the Wildcats on top with a solo home run in the second.

Dartmouth had a chance to even the score in the home half of the second. Kate Farren reached on an error with one out and Morgan Ebow also took advantage of a Kentucky error to put runners on second and third. The threat ended on a line-out to finish the inning.

The fifth was Dartmouth's best opportunity to score and potentially take the lead. Castillo smacked a leadoff double, McFadyen then walked, and Nelson singled to load the bases with two outs. After a tough at-bat by Micah Schroder, a fly-out to left stranded three runners on base.

Kentucky pushed its lead to 3-0 in the sixth on a two-run homer by Alex Martens. Autumn Humes made it 4-0 with a two-out solo shot in the seventh.

Weekly started the bottom of the seventh with a single, but the game ended after pair of pop outs and groundout.

Dartmouth has two weeks off until they travel to California for eight games in four days. The trip begins in Northridge for the CSUN/LMU Tournament on March 14 where the Big Green face Idaho State at 11:00 a.m. and San Diego at 1:15 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.