Plonka No-Hits Tufts and Fans 17 to Highlight Doubleheader Sweep

Saturday, May 15

Medford, Mass. | Spicer Field

11:00 AM

Dartmouth College

2-2

Tufts

17-4

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Dartmouth	0	0	0	0	4	0	1	5	9	0
Tufts	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2

Apr. 24, 2021; Amherst, Massachusetts, USA; during Game 2 of a non conference doubleheader between Dartmouth College and UMass held at Sortino Field. The Minutewomen won Game 2 by a score of 15-13 over the Big Green. Credit Foley-Photography.

Brooke Plonka was masterful on the mound on Saturday.

Photo by: Brian Foley

Plonka No-Hits Tufts and Fans 17 to Highlight Doubleheader Sweep

5/15/2021 1:12:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Game 1 Box Game 2 Box

The 17 punchouts break the program record set eight years ago

By: Rick Bender

MEDFORD, Mass. — Dartmouth junior Brooke Plonka stole the show during a Saturday doubleheader sweep at Tufts, twirling the seventh no-hitter in Big Green history in the first game while also setting a program record with 17 strikeouts in a 5-0 victory over the Jumbos at Spicer Field. In the nightcap, junior Billie McFadyen delivered a clutch, three-run double to cap a five-run sixth as Dartmouth (3-2) rallied for a 7-4 victory over Tufts (17-5), which is headed to the NCAA Division III Tournament as the NESCAC champion.

To say Plonka (1-0) was dominating would be an understatement as all but four outs were recorded on punchouts. The only Tufts batter to reach base was Mia Steinberg, who walked in each of her first two at-bats. Four times Plonka struck out the side, and each of the top three hitters in the lineup went whiffed in each of their three plate appearances.

Plonka was also involved in the Big Green's most recent no-hitter, a combined effort with junior Madie Augusto against North Carolina A&T just over a year ago on Feb. 23, 2020.

Plonka was locked in a scoreless pitchers' duel through the first four frames as the Big Green lineup was held in check by Jumbos hurler Kristina Haghdan (6-3) with only one base runner advancing to second base. But in the top of the fifth, sophomores Walker Wicklund and Maria Angelino along with freshman Izzy Kam got things going with consecutive one-out singles to load the bases. McFadyen then lofted a long fly deep into the right-field corner for a double — her first of three two-baggers in the twinbill — to plate the first two runs of the game. Sophomore Kate Farren followed by hitting a comebacker to the mound, but the pitcher's throw to the plate was high and went to the backstop, allowing Kam and McFadyen to score for a 4-0 lead.

In the seventh, senior Abby Shipley sent a fly to right to score McFadyen, who had led off the stanza with a single and advanced to third on a bunt single by Farren.

Plonka quickly disposed of the Jumbos in the bottom half of the inning, catching the final batter looking with her 99th pitch to end her gem.

McFadyen, Farren, Wicklund and Kam all had two hits apiece as Dartmouth collected nine as a team.

The Big Green jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the third inning of the second game when Shipley delivered a two-out RBI single to right, scoring McFadyen from second.

The lead was short-lived, however, as the Jumbos put two on the board in their half of the third against Augusto on a Kat Yuzefpols RBI double and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Steinberg.

Kam replaced Augusto on the mound to start the fourth and also found trouble when Tufts loaded the bases with two down. A wild pitch allowed one run to cross the plate, and in an attempt to get cut that runner off, the throw to Kam covering the plate got away, allowing another Jumbo run to score, putting the Green in a 4-1 hole.

It stayed that way until the sixth when Tufts relieved starter Sophia DiCocco, who had yielded one run on five hits in her five innings of work. Dartmouth jumped on the Cassie Cancemi (0-1), loading the bases with nobody out on a walk to Shipley and back-to-back singles by freshman Mary Beth Cahalan and Kelly Beaupre. When pinch-hitter Emma Key walked to force in a run, the Jumbos went back to the bullpen hoping to quell the rally.

Wicklund greeted Kristi Van Meter by lining a shot to left for a sacrifice fly, making it a 4-3 game. Another line drive by Angelino was snagged for the second out, but after Kam walked to load the bases once again, McFadyen yanked a 2-0 pitch into the left-field corner to score all three runs for a 6-4 lead.

The Big Green tacked on an insurance run in the seventh when Cahalan singled, Beaupre doubled her to third and Regan Weekly brought her home with a grounder back to the mound.

Kam (1-0), meanwhile, settled in and kept the Jumbos off the board, stranding two runners in the seventh to finish off her first collegiate victory. She tossed four innings, allowing two runs, one earned, on six hits and one walk.

McFadyen was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with two doubles, a run and those big three RBIs, while Cahalan and Beaupre each had two knocks.

With the two wins, Dartmouth concludes its shortened season with a record of 3-2.

Notes: The last complete-game no-hitter by a Dartmouth pitcher was turned in by Kristen Rumley '15 on March 28, 2015 against Columbia … Rumley also held the single-game strikeout record with 15 whiffs against Elon back on March 23, 2013.