Adrian Boteanu / Sun File Photo

The Red will look to take the final game of the series in Hanover on Tuesday.

April 16, 2018

Softball Down 2 Games Against Dartmouth Amidst Weather-Delayed Series

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With the third game of the series postponed until Tuesday, Cornell is currently 0-2 against Dartmouth. Away from their home field, the Red struggled to overcome the early and decisive leads Dartmouth acquired, leading to two consecutive losses on Saturday.

“We knew they’d be a bit of a challenge at the plate,” said head coach Julie Farlow. “We just knew that they were starting to get in the flow of things and they were starting to play some good softball.”

Both games saw the Green (14-14, 8-3 Ivy) win due to an imposing offensive, earning them overall scores of 8-4 and 7-2 in their favor. This showing is just a week after Cornell (11-17, 6-5) swept Brown in a three-game contest.

“Dartmouth is a little bit of a stronger team than what we faced against Brown,” Farlow said. “They were just a little bit more solid in all aspects of the game. We knew it was going to be a challenge, and we knew we had to play well. And we just didn’t do that.”

Game one was originally scheduled for 12:30 p.m. but was moved up two hours to get ahead of the inclement weather that was scheduled to hit New Hampshire later in the day. The faceoff was at a standstill with both teams scoreless until the third inning after four back-to-back solo home runs from Dartmouth.

The dominance continued until the fifth inning, with three more runs scored in the fourth. Cornell attempted to bounce back from their shaky start by bringing in four runs over the course of the rest of the game, but it ultimately wasn’t enough to break through Dartmouth’s head start.

Cornell did manage to have some presence at the plate in the first game, with seniors Megan Murray and Rebecca Kubena pulling out two hits apiece. Additionally, Kubena scored twice herself, and sophomore Erin Rockstroh and senior Tori Togashi contributed with a base-earning hit each.

“I thought in the first game we were hitting the ball pretty well,” said Farlow. “[Dartmouth] went on a tear and we tried to fight back at the end — we had runners on, but it was too little too late.”

The second game saw Dartmouth’s momentum continue with another seven-run lead, keeping Cornell scoreless until the seventh inning. In the first inning alone, the Green knocked in five runs to take control of the game immediately. The Red only managed to scrape together five hits over the course of the second half of the doubleheader.

“It’s always a little deflating when you’re trying to flush the results of game one right away and refocus and start fresh on game two,” said Farlow. “When [Dartmouth] got the momentum going right away, I think that was what deflated us.”

After this weekend’s results, Dartmouth stands solidly in second place in the conference. In the history of these two teams facing off, this is the 10th win in a row for Dartmouth, with Cornell leading the all-time series 38-19.

The Red will be returning to Hanover on Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. to play the last of their three games against Dartmouth in an attempt to salvage the series.