Farren Leads Dartmouth to Series Sweep at Penn

Wednesday, April 27

Philadelphia, Pa.

1:00 PM

Dartmouth College

17-21, 0

Penn

10-30, 0

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Dartmouth	0	0	4	0	1	4	0	9	10	1
Penn	0	0	0	4	2	2	0	8	10	1

Kate Farren softball game one action versus Brown

Junior Kate Farren

Photo by: Doug Austin

Farren Leads Dartmouth to Series Sweep at Penn

4/27/2022 4:22:00 PM | Softball

Box Score Box Score

The junior shortstop had four RBIs including the go-ahead hit in the sixth

By: Rick Bender

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — Junior Kate Farren went 2-for-4 with four RBIs, including a go-ahead two-run single in the sixth, and the Dartmouth softball team was able to hold off host Penn on Wednesday afternoon at Penn Park, 9-8. With the victory, the Big Green improve to 17-21 on the season and 11-4 in the Ivy League, moving into a tie for second place with Harvard. The Quakers dropped their ninth straight game to fall to 10-30 overall and 5-13 in the Ancient Eight.

Trailing 6-5 in the sixth after surrendering leads of 4-0 and 5-4, the Dartmouth bats went right to work as sophomore Mary Beth Cahalan lined a shot off the leg of Penn pitcher Julia Longo for a base hit. But two outs later, the Big Green only had the tying run on second base before senior Billie McFadyen worked a nine-pitch walk. Another walk to freshman Alaana Panu loaded the bases, and Farren pulled an 0-1 pitch down the line just inside third base for a two-run single and a 7-6 lead. A wild pitch put runners at second third, and freshman Leila Hennessy provided a single to center, scoring both runners as Farren evaded the tag with her slide for a three-run lead.

The Quakers came right back, putting two runners into scoring position with one out on a single, an error and a wild pitch. Brianna Brown then found a hole up the middle for a two-run single, closing the gap to one at 9-8. Cahalan came up with a huge defensive play for the Big Green when the catcher gunned down Brown trying to steal second for the second out. That seemed to settle freshman pitcher Megan Hagge, who induced a grounder to Farren at short for the third out.

In the seventh, Hagge recorded the first out with one pitch on a popup to second, then got a routine fly to center before hitting a Quaker to put the tying run on base. A hard smash got through the infield to keep Penn's hopes alive with runners at first and second, but Hagge quickly finished off the next hitter on three pitches, pumping a high fastball past her for strike three and the 9-8 victory.

Dartmouth opened the scoring with a four-run third after loading the bases on a walk and a pair of singles. McFadyen hit a grounder to short and the throw home was wild, allowing two runs to score. A bunt single by Panu sent another Big Green runner sliding across home plate, and Farren drove in McFadyen with the fourth run on a grounder to third.

But senior Brooke Plonka, who tossed a six-hit shutout yesterday, was touched for four Quaker runs in the fourth, ending a streak of 17 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run. Bella Fiorentino shot a two-run single into right-center to cut the Big Green lead in half, and with two out, Mortimer came through with another two-run single, knotting the score at four.

Back-to-back singles by McFadyen and Panu in the fifth gave Farren another opportunity to shine, and she did with an RBI ground-rule double to right, her team-leading 10th of the season. Longo was summoned from the Quaker bullpen to stem the tide, and she did by getting soft liners to second and back to the circle before Panu was caught too far off third base when Maria Angelino walked on a full-count pitch.

Hagge took over for Plonka to start the fifth, but two walks helped Penn put the tying and go-ahead runs into scoring position with two down. Fiorentino once again delivered for Penn, shooting a two-run single up the middle just past the second baseman McFadyen to put the Quakers on top, 6-5. That merely set the stage for Dartmouth's four-run sixth.

Earning the victory was Hagge (2-4), who tossed the final three innings and allowed three earned runs on five hits and two walks while fanning two.

Longo (4-15) was stuck with the loss for yielding four runs on three hits and three walks in 1.2 innings of work.

Panu and Farren each had two hits for the Big Green with McFadyen scoring three runs and sophomore Izzy Kam two.

Fiorentino matched Farren's line by going 2-for-4 with a run and four RBIs to lead the Penn offense.

Next up for Dartmouth is a trip to Cambridge to take on the Crimson of Harvard (17-16, 11-4 Ivy) as the two battle to see who gets the edge in qualifying for the Ivy League Championship series on May 14-15. The top two teams in the league will meet in a best-of-three series, and whichever team wins the series will be in the driver's seat. All three games will be streamed live on ESPN+ beginning both Saturday and Sunday at 12:30 p.m. The series finale on Sunday will also be shown on NESN at 7 p.m. that evening via tape delay.