During its spring break trip to California, the softball team won eight games and lost six.
The 10-day trip packed in games against tough opponents to help the team prepare for the sprint of the Ivy League season.
Though playing so many games in a short time span is difficult, the team was able to learn a lot, Morgan McCalmon ’16 said.
“We were able to come close together, being tired, knowing that we had to push through and pick up our teammates,” she said. “I think we all stepped up a lot.”
From March 14 to March 16, the team competed in the Gaucho Classic II hosted by the University of California at Santa Barbara, winning back-to-back games on Sunday.
The tournament setting allowed the team to prepare for the grueling Ivy League schedule that includes four games in two days each weekend.
“From start to finish, we were a much improved team,” head coach Rachel Hanson said. “We improved our ability to sustain a high level of performance throughout an entire game against a high level of competition, to understand the full requirements of focusing in on every pitch and every at-bat and performing during every pitch.”
Dartmouth started strong, defeating Portland State University 11-5 in the first game. Kristen Rumley ’15 earned the win, pitching the first four innings and surrendering only one run. At the plate, the team generated season-bests with 18 hits and 11 runs, getting on base in every inning.
The next day, Dartmouth lost the first game of its Saturday doubleheader 2-1 against Utah State University before rebounding that evening with another crushing 11-2 win over Portland State.
Dartmouth finished the Gaucho Classic II with another twin bill that included a 5-1 win over Monmouth University and a 9-2 victory against Santa Barbara.
Dartmouth returned to action Wednesday, defeating the University of San Diego 9-6 in a dramatic extra-inning game. In the top of the eighth with the score tied at six, Katie McEachern ’16 hit a three-run home run to left field to give Dartmouth the victory. Rumley, named the Ivy League pitcher of the week during the trip, pitched the last two and two-thirds innings, contributing three hits and an RBI at the plate.
Then on Thursday, Dartmouth lost both games 5-6 to Monmouth and University of California at Riverside. Against Monmouth, the Big Green jumped out to a four-run lead through the first two innings before giving up the lead during a five-run fourth for the Hawks. Dartmouth was done in by another five-run inning in the next game as UC Riverside scored five in the bottom of the seventh to take the come-from-behind win.
Dartmouth’s slate continued with Friday games against Bethune-Cookman University and Canisius College in the Loyola-Marymount University Invitational II.
Ashley Sissel ’17 and McCalmon had strong performances in the circle for the Big Green in the first game with a two-hit shutout against Bethune-Cookman.
Sissel started the game and pitched into the fifth inning, where she allow her first two singles of the day. McCalmon was perfect in the remaining innings, earning the win when Dartmouth scored its four runs in the fifth.
Dartmouth’s pitching rotation stayed strong as Rumley pitched a one-hit complete game shutout against Canisius, striking out 11 batters and allowing just a single as Dartmouth won 2-0.
Dartmouth split its two Saturday games, defeating Riverside 3-1, in what would turn out to be Dartmouth’s final win of spring break. Rumley allowed one run on two hits for her seventh win of the season.
In the second game, the team dropped a rematch against Canisius 4-2 as the Big Green offense was unable to climb out of a hole after the Golden Griffins scored three in the top of the first.
On Sunday, Dartmouth dropped both games of a double-header to conclude the tournament, losing 7-0 to California Polytechnic State University and 9-3 to host LMU. Sissel crushed her first career home run against LMU, tying the game in the second before LMU ran away with the victory.
The team was able to learn from its losses, which will help players when they face Ivy League competition, Karen Chaw ’17 said in addition to bonding and building trust.
The team was scheduled to play its home opener against the University of Massachusetts at Lowell today, but the game was canceled due to weather conditions. Dartmouth will begin Ivy League play this weekend with a Saturday doubleheader at Cornell University and a Sunday doubleheader at Princeton University.
