With two two-game sweeps, softball improved its Ivy League record 8-0 for the best start in the program’s history. The weekend closed with a 12-1 five-inning annihilation of the Ivy League’s defending champions, the University of Pennsylvania. Dartmouth worked on all cylinders, as the Big Green outscored Columbia and Penn by a combined 27-7 in the four games.
On Friday, Dartmouth knocked off Columbia University 8-1 and 4-3 before defeating Penn 3-2 and 12-1 on Saturday.
Columbia entered Friday’s first game with a near identical record to Dartmouth, including matching 4-0 League records, but Columbia’s pitchers could not shut down Dartmouth’s hitters.
Columbia started off on the wrong foot, walking three Dartmouth hitters in the first inning, which eventually led to an early 2-0 Big Green lead. From there, the scoring continued almost every inning for Dartmouth, highlighted by a Karen Chaw ’17 solo home run in the third and a two-run homer from Katie McEachern ’16 in the sixth to cap a 4-for-4 game for the short-stop.
Kristen Rumley ’15 confounded Columbia’s batters, surrendering just four hits, one run, one walk and tallying eight strikeouts in six innings of work for her 10th win of the season.
Columbia was able to adjust in time for Friday’s second game, but still fell 4-3.
Morgan McCalmon ’16, the starting pitcher, picked up her fourth win this season, throwing five innings and giving up only three hits and one run.
“Our pitching staff has worked really hard this year, and we have full trust that anybody with the ball is going to get the job done,” McCalmon said. “In that moment, everybody embraced their role and took it on.”
In the first, single by Chaw scored both McCalmon and Rumley as the batting order continued to be productive.
The teams traded runs in the third and fourth. Kara Curosh ’14 hit an RBI single before a Columbia sacrifice fly made the score 3-1. Curosh also provided the game-winning run in the fifth, an RBI groundout that scored Chaw, who had opened the inning with a single.
Columbia would make a comeback bid, scoring twice in the seventh and forcing Dartmouth to rotate through three pitchers in one inning. Rumley eventually shut the door, stranding two Columbia runners on base for her league-leading third save of the season.
“That particular game, it was all hands on deck,” coach Rachel Hanson said.
Despite wind and some rain, the Dartmouth team played strong, sweeping the Quakers. To McCalmon, focusing on the fundamentals of the game helped focus the team.
“It’s always tough but I think we’ve had a little more practice at it,” McCalmon said of playing in the elements. “You just got to get that distraction out of your head and throw the game the way you know how.”
In the first game of Saturday’s double-header, Dartmouth ground out a 3-2 win, fending off a two-run charge from the visitors in the seventh. The Big Green struck first in the second inning with a groudout by left-fielder Chloe Madill ’17 that scored Curosh.
Neither team scored for the next three innings. But in the sixth, Dartmouth scored another two runs, when Megan Averitt ’15 scored on a passed ball and Madill scored shortly after on an error by Columbia’s first baseman.
Penn’s comeback bid in the seventh cut Dartmouth’s lead to one. Rumley allowed two singles and hit a batter. With bases loaded, a Penn single scored two runners, prompting Hanson to send McCalmon to the mound to relieve Rumley.
“There always pressure,” McCalmon said. “We control what we can control, and in that moment, we just have to trust in our abilities.”
McCalmon earned her first collegiate save after a bunt out, a third base pick-off by Alex St. Romain ’14 and a fly out, preserving the win, which was Rumley’s league-leading 11th on the year.
Dartmouth’s offense returned in the second half of Saturday’s doubleheader. McCalmon went 3-for-3 at the plate with six RBIs and two homers while also pitching 4.2 innings. Hitting right ahead of the cleanup hitter McCalmon, McEachern also had a strong game, going 3-for-3.
Dartmouth would overwhelm Penn with 10 runs in the third inning to win 12-1 in five innings, invoking the mercy rule to end the game early.
Midway through the third with one out and bases loaded, Hanson hoped to capitalize by sending Alyssa Loyless ’17 to pinch hit for Averitt and validated the decision with a full-count bases-clearing double.
Hanson said Averitt’s hitting style is that of a slapper — the California native hits on the run and specializes in ground balls. With bases loaded, however, the slapping style makes for an easy out, so Loyless was swapped in, Hanson said.
“It felt awesome actually getting the hit,” Loyless said. “From the first foul ball, I knew I was going to crush the ball.”
McCalmon put the exclamation point on the inning with a three-run homer, her second of the game.
Dartmouth will next host Boston University on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
