The Dartmouth softball team shrugged off a 12-4 mercy rule loss to the University of Connecticut last Wednesday, earning a decisive four game series sweep against Yale University at home over the weekend and splitting a doubleheader against the State University of New York at Albany on Wednesday afternoon.
The Big Green (12-21, 9-3 Ivy) is currently tied with Harvard University for first place in the North Division of the Ivy League.
Dartmouth is now 11-4 in the last 15 games after starting the season 1-17.
"Our offense has been solid since entering Ivy League play," Leigha Clarkson '10 said. "We need to stay aggressive in the box and keep doing what we're doing."
Facing SUNY Albany (15-19, 6-6 America East) on Wednesday, the women's squad was unable to hold onto an early 1-0 lead in the opening game after a grand slam by senior Nicole Kothe highlighted a six-run second inning in a 9-2 Danes' rout.
Kat Hicks '12 and Evan Gray '13 combined for seven innings, allowing nine earned runs.
In the second game, Albany broke through a stalemate in the fourth to take a 3-0 advantage, but Dartmouth would save the best for last.
The Big Green bats came alive for four jacks tying a school record for most home runs in a single game in two innings of work to propel a six-run rally that left the Danes reeling. Dartmouth completed the comeback, 6-3.
Hillary Barker '12 dominated the side, giving up only three runs in three hits while fanning seven.
The weekend action against the Bulldogs (9-22, 4-8 Ivy) began on Sunday after the Saturday doubleheader was suspended and rescheduled to Monday afternoon due to inclement weather conditions.
In the opening game, the Big Green made short-work of Yale in a five-inning mercy rule victory, as the Dartmouth women erupted for 11 runs behind 11 hits from a well-balanced lineup.
Yale led off with two runs in the first before Dartmouth rallied behind a three-run shot by Christy Autin '10 in the bottom of the inning and padded its lead in a rained-delayed third inning with four more runs sparked by an RBI double from Noelle Ramirez '13.
The chilly afternoon would not dampen the Big Green bats, as Dartmouth lit up the Bulldogs' hurlers for two runs in the fourth and fifth innings en route to the 11-3 blowout.
In the nightcap, Yale responded with an offensive surge, pounding the Big Green with eight runs through 5 1/2 innings, meaning it only needed six outs to earn the doubleheader split.
Dartmouth had other plans, however, as Hillary Hubert '13 jump-started a five-run sixth inning with a three-run bomb to cut the deficit to three.
A single from Ramirez and two walks loaded the bases for Audrey Kolodziej '11, who extended the inning with an RBI single to left field. Nikki Yee '10 pushed the Big Green's offense with another RBI single, cutting the Bulldogs' six run advantage to one.
"We just put the ball in play and kept putting pressure on the Yale defense," Clarkson said. "When [Yale] scored, we made sure to come back, and when we were ahead we closed the door."
Up 8-7 in the bottom of the seventh, Yale came within two outs of closing out the game before a clutch single from Khalil capped off Dartmouth's dramatic comeback, as the home team evened the score at eight apiece.
Both teams would score a run in the eighth, but Dartmouth had the last word, as Khalil came through again in the ninth with a walk-off solo home run her fifth of the year giving the Big Green a huge 10-9 win.
Monday's action saw more firepower from the Big Green, as the team devastated opposing pitchers with 17 total runs behind 16 hits, earning a doubleheader sweep of the Bulldogs for the second day in-a-row.
Things went from bad to worse for Yale in the second game, as the big bats for the Big Green racked up eight runs in the second inning behind a series of run-scoring walks and RBI singles.
A two-run comeback by the Bulldogs was not enough to keep Yale in contention after Hubert brought down the hammer with a three-run shot in the fifth, giving Dartmouth its second mercy-rule victory of the series, 11-3.
In the opening game, the Big Green jumped ahead early behind a three-run second to grab a 4-1, lead before Yale rallied with an RBI double and a solo shot to close within one.
The comeback was short-lived, however, as a three-run bomb in the sixth from Costello her fifth of the year brought Dartmouth's advantage to four and sealed the 7-3 win.
The Big Green takes on Brown University this Saturday in a four game series in Providence, R.I.
