The Dartmouth softball team, behind the strong arm of freshman pitcher Christy Maybaum, easily defeated Colby-Sawyer 8-3 yesterday afternoon, bringing the team's record to 9-27, 4-6 in the Ivy League.
Dartmouth raced out of the dugout, scoring four runs in the first inning to take charge of the game.
Jennifer Pitts '95 lead off with a single. Lauren McQuade '97 drove Pitts home with a single to put the Big Green ahead 1-0.
Rachel Rochat '95 drove McQuade in with a double and a sacrifice fly from Raili Cook '98 advanced Rochat to third base.
Amy Coelho '97 ended the Dartmouth onslaught with an RBI single, driving home Rochat, and Dartmouth took a 4-0 lead into the second inning.
Dartmouth drew blood again in the third inning when Julie Doster '97knocked in McQuade with a double. Cook cleared the bases with a two run homerun.
With Dartmouth up 7-0 in the third, and Maybaum shutting down Colby-Sawyer, it looked like the eight-run rule could take effect, sending the Big Green home after five innings.
"We were kind of disappointed that we didn't finish them off in five, because we could have," Rochat said.
Maybaum was stellar on the mound, pitching five innings while giving up only one hit, no runs, no walks and striking out eight batters.
"Christina was pretty well in control of the game," Coach Hank Tenney said.
With the Big Green up 7-0, Cook came out to pitch the sixth, holding Colby-Sawyer scoreless while striking out one.
"We didn't need to leave [Maybaum] in there leading 7-0," Tenney . "She had a good game on the mound. We just wanted to give somebody else a chance to pitch ... they just couldn't hit the ball, there wasn't any purpose for us to keep her in there."
Colby-Sawyer roughed up Cook in the seventh though. Cook walked the first batter to the plate, then hit the next batter. A triple and a walk later, Colby-Sawyer had three runs on the board.
But that was all it got, and Dartmouth held on for the easy 8-3 victory.
Pitts had three hits for the Big Green, while McQuade and Doster added a pair each.
The win broke the Big Green'sthree-game losing streak. Dartmouth hosts Columbia in a twin-bill this afternoon at 2 at Sachem Field.
Maybaum will start one game on the mound while Ericka Lee '95 will start the other.
"We're playing very well, we've won five or six of our last seven or eight games," Tenney said.
"I think we can pick two up against Columbia," Rochat said. "Our big goal right now is to beat Harvard [on May 6], but that's looking a little far ahead."
Pitts and Rochat both cited solid pitching for the team's much improved second half of the season.
"I think that our pitching has improved a lot over the year," Pitts said. "Tomorrow we're looking to win a couple of games."
The team hosts a strong Rhode Island team for a doubleheader on Sunday at noon.
"Rhode Island is a pretty strong program," Pitts said. "We're hoping to pull out a win, hit the ball well and field well all the time."
