The Bulldogs had the bases loaded in the seventh inning, but Olivia Schramm gunned down the would-be tying run at third to end the game
By: Kyle Relf
PRINCETON, N.J. — The Dartmouth softball team defeated Yale by a final score of 4-3 on Thursday, the second day of the Ivy League Tournament, and is now set to face Harvard on Friday for the right to play Princeton for the championship.
The Bulldogs had the bases loaded in the top of the seventh and looked primed to at least tie the game, but that was before first-year center fielder Olivia Schramm fielded Katie Donahy's fly ball and threw out a tagging runner at third for a game-ending double play.
— Dartmouth Softball (@DartmouthSball) May 9, 2024
The Big Green scored each of their four runs in the first inning with a two-out rally that included a two-run double by Allie Ohde and a two-run Justice Malone single. Yale was scoreless until the top of the fifth and plated two more in the final half inning after loading the bases with no outs.
Jensin Hall earned her 11th win of the season, often able to work her way out of jams with minimal damage, including the seventh inning. Her eighth and final strikeout of the afternoon was her most crucial, fanning Carmen Muscolina for the first out in a bases-loaded situation. Bulldog starter Emma Taylor settled in after allowing the four early runs, limiting the Big Green to only four hits over the next five innings.
Hall's final strikeout of the afternoon was her 169th of the season, tying Christine Quattrocchi '03 for the most in a season by any first-year pitcher in program history.
After being shutout by No. 1 seed Princeton on Wednesday, early offense proved to be the Big Green's recipe for success on Thursday. With one out in the opening frame, Alaana Panu delivered the first of four first-inning Dartmouth hits. Kelly Beaupre and Schramm both walked, and later with two gone, Ohde ripped her RBI double into left-center to hand Dartmouth a 2-0 edge. That set the stage for Malone to drive in two more with her single.
— Dartmouth Softball (@DartmouthSball) May 9, 2024
No. 3 Harvard took a 3-1 loss to Princeton in the first game of the day, setting up a battle between the Big Green and the Crimson on Friday at 10 a.m. The winner of that contest will need to defeat Princeton in back-to-back games in order to hoist the trophy.
Harvard won two of three over Dartmouth in the regular season, but that series featured Hall's 13-strikeout one-hitter in her only start against the Crimson.
Stay tuned to DartmouthSports.com and Dartmouth softball's social media pages for schedule updates as the Ivy League Tournament progresses.