Second-Place Showdown at Harvard This Weekend

Saturday, April 30

Cambridge, Mass.

12:30 PM

Dartmouth College

Harvard

Leila Hennessy softball game one action versus Brown

Leila Hennessy has been a crucial bat in the middle of the order for the Big Green.

Photo by: Doug Austin

Second-Place Showdown at Harvard This Weekend

4/29/2022 3:57:00 PM | Softball

ESPN+ (Game 1)ESPN+ (Game 2)ESPN+ (Game 3)Live Stats Dartmouth Notes

Whichever team wins the series will be in the driver’s seat to play in the Ivy Championship Series

By: Rick Bender

DARTMOUTH (17-21, 11-4) at HARVARD (17-16, 11-4)
April 30, 2022, 12:30 p.m. (DH) • May 1, 12:30 p.m. • Soldiers Field • Cambridge, Mass.

Series With Huge Implications
The three games this weekend are crucial to Dartmouth's and Harvard's chances of qualifying for the Ivy League Championship Series on May 13-14. Whichever team wins the series will have at least a one-game lead over the other and the tiebreaker with three games remaining (with both teams finishing with Cornell next week).

Should the Big Green sweep the series, the Crimson would be eliminated. If Harvard were to win all three games, Dartmouth would have to not only sweep Cornell in Hanover, but also hope that Columbia wins all three against Princeton this weekend to qualify. There are even more fun scenarios if the Big Green, Crimson and Tigers finish in a three-way tie, but we'll save that for next week should it still be a possibility.

Overall Record vs. Harvard
• Of all of the teams in the league, the Crimson have given Dartmouth the most problems as the Big Green are 22-54 against Harvard since the start of varsity play in 1995.
• The Crimson have won 11 of the last 12 meetings, including both games of the ILCS in 2018 in Hanover.
• Since 2007 when these two began playing more than two games in a season, Dartmouth has won two series — 2013 and '14.
• The last season sweep of Harvard took place in 2006 when the Green took both contests.
• Dartmouth is 13-22 against the Crimson in Cambridge.

Last Time Against the Crimson
The Big Green lost three heartbreakers at home against Harvard back in 2019 by a combined four runs with one loss coming in 11 innings, matching the longest game for Dartmouth since a 13-inning contest in 2006.
In the opener, the Crimson hit RBI doubles in the second and third stanzas, then had to hold off the Green in the seventh after a triple, a double, a single and a stolen base closed the gap to one with the tying and winning runs in scoring position. But a strikeout and a grounder to third allowed Harvard to take the 2-1 triumph.
The second game featured offense early as the teams were tied at seven after four frames. Taylor Ward and Micah Schroder hit solo homers, and Billie McFadyen popped a two-run shot that tied the game up in the fourth. It was all zeroes from there until the 11th when the Crimson broke through with three runs, two of which were unearned. Schroder smacked another homer leading off the bottom half, but that would be all for Dartmouth in the 9-7 defeat.
The third game was like the first as Harvard scored a run early then added three in the fifth for a 4-0 advantage. The Big Green procrastinated at the plate until the seventh, then put three runs on the board as Ward delivered a two-run triple and scored on a grounder to short. But the final out came on the next pitch, leaving Dartmouth on the wrong end of a 4-3 score.

Scouting Harvard
• The Crimson, has only played three games since April 12, taking two of three at Brown with each game decided by a single run.
• Harvard's series at Cornell on April 16-17 was postponed due to COVID concerns, and those three games will be played on May 3-4.
• The Crimson are second in the league in scoring at 3.7 runs per game, but in Ivy play they average 4.5 runs which ranks third behind Dartmouth (5.6) and Princeton (4.9).
• Harvard has three regulars batting over .300, led by Morgan Melito at .318 with a team-best .426 on-base percentage and four homers, tying for the lead with Allison Heffley, who is hitting .378 in conference games.
• The Crimson are not afraid to run, stealing 39-of-42 bases in the Ancient Eight alone, more than double the thefts of any other team.
• The Harvard pitchers have been among the best in the league with a 2.99 overall ERA that drops to 1.40 in the Ivy League.
• There have been some fielding woes with the second-worst fielding percentage (.954) in the league and the Crimson have thrown out just three of 38 would-be base stealers.

What's Up Next
The game originally scheduled at Boston College on May 4 has been canceled, so Dartmouth will finish up the regular season with three games at Dartmouth Softball Park against Cornell on Saturday and Sunday.

Sweep at Penn Pulls Green Into Second
With three wins at Penn on Tuesday and Wednesday, Dartmouth has pulled itself into a tie for second with this weekend's opponent, Harvard, at 11-4 in league play. That makes 10 victories in the Big Green's last 11 Ivy contests to erase the gap.

The Green is Mightier Than the Penn
After sweeping a doubleheader at Penn on April 26, Dartmouth outlasted the Quakers in the series finale the following day in a game that featured the highest combined score of the season, 9-8. The Big Green took a 4-0 lead only to have Penn tie the game in the fourth. When Dartmouth scored a run in the fifth, the Quakers responded by tallying two. A four-run sixth proved to be the difference, however, as Penn's two runs in the bottom would be all it would get as Megan Hasse stranded two runners in the seventh to earn her second win of the season the first coming in the previous high-scoring game, a 9-7 win over Brown in eight innings.

Farren Doubles Her Fun
Junior Kate Farren has been a doubles machine of late, swatting nine two-baggers in the last 12 games. She now leads the Ivy League with nine doubles in conference games, while her 10 on the season are the third most overall in the Ancient Eight. Not bad for someone who hadn't hit a double in the first 21 games. She is the 15th player in program history to hit double-digit doubles in a season. She also provided a career-high four RBIs in the 9-8 win over Penn, giving her a team-high 20 on the season.

Augusto with Gusto
It had been 16 days since senior Madie Augusto last pitched, and she made the most of her opportunity, tossing a complete-game, 4-2 victory at Penn on April 26. She threw 123 pitches in her second complete game of the season and fourth of her career, striking out four. While she surrendered two runs in the first, she settled in from there. Although she did walk the bases full in the third, she went on to retire eight straight batters and stranded two in the seventh to finish off the big win.

Another Shutout for Plonka
Senior Brooke Plonka started the Penn series in style by pitching a six-hit, 4-0 shutout, her fifth blanking of the season and seventh of her career. Since starting the season with a 2-9 record, the southpaw is 9-1 in 12 starts and 13 appearances since. Her 11 victories lead the Ivy League, as do her 123.0 innings, 22 starts, five shutouts and 13 complete games.

Bottom Half Bash
In the 4-0 win at Penn on April 26, credit the bottom of the order for providing the bulk of the offense. The bottom four hitters in the lineup — Kate Farren, Alaana Panu, Jenna Brown and Maria Angelino — combined for seven of the nine hits, scored three of the runs and drove in all four to support Plonka's gem in the circle. Both Panu and Brown were a perfect 2-for-2 at the plate, and Farren added a pair of doubles.

3 … 2 … 1 … Contact!
Every player in the Ivy League with more than four at-bats in conference play has struck out at least once this season. Every player except Billie McFadyen, that is. The senior has had 53 at-bats against Ivy opponents, and she has put the ball in play every time to the tune of a .377 average, seventh in the Ancient Eight. The 5-foot second baseman also packs a wallop with a .623 slugging percentage, fourth-best in the league. Overall, she has not struck out in her last 74 at-bats, dating back to the 5-0 win over Mercer on March 20.

Convincing Win Clinches Series
The Big Green took advantage of some sloppy play by Columbia on April 24 to score five unearned runs and win the rubber match of the series in a game shortened by the run rule, 9-1. Freshman Alaana Panu was the hitting star of the game, going 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs, supporting the pitching of Brooke Plonka. The senior southpaw threw her second two-hit, complete-game victory of the weekend, allowing just one unearned run. The win also improved Dartmouth to 29-20 all-time against the Lions.