Tag Archive: Softball

  1. SOFTBALL | Bulldogs 1–3 to begin Ivy play

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    After starting off Ivy League competition with two losses, the softball team used offensive outbursts to lift itself to its first conference win of the season.

    The Bulldogs (7–13, 1–3 Ivy) dropped a doubleheader at Cornell (14–12–1, 3–1) on Saturday but earned a split against Princeton (10–14, 2–2) on Sunday. The team’s win against Princeton snapped a ten-game losing streak.

    Despite outhitting the Big Red in both games, Yale was swept by its Ancient Eight rivals, 3–0 and 10–2.

    “Obviously we didn’t want to come out and lose our first two Ivy games, but if you look at the stats from the game, we outhit Cornell,” captain and catcher McKynlee Westman said. “Our hits just didn’t come in a row.”

    In the first game, Cornell pitcher Elizabeth Dalrymple pitched a four-hit shutout en route to a 3–0 win over the Bulldogs. Dalrymple finished the game with 11 strikeouts and no walks.

    Dalrymple’s performance overshadowed a strong outing by Yale pitcher Chelsey Dunham ’14, who allowed just three runs — two earned — on three hits through six innings of work.

    The Big Red scored two runs in the second inning after Christina Villalon walked and scored on an RBI triple by Morgan Cawley. Cawley then scored on a passed ball to give Cornell a 2–0 lead. The Big Red also got an insurance run in the sixth on an RBI double off the bat of Villalon.

    Dalrymple did not allow a hit until the fourth inning, when right fielder Jennifer Ong ’13 opened the frame with a leadoff single. Ong was ultimately left stranded, as Dalrymple struck out the next three batters to end the inning.

    Cornell also took the nightcap, 10–2. Though the Elis collected nine hits in the second game, they struggled to capitalize on scoring chances and left eight runners stranded.

    In the first inning, the Big Red loaded the bases with no outs and scored two runs on a pair of RBI groundouts to take an early 2–0 lead.

    The Bulldogs responded in the next frame when they loaded the bases and got a run off a sacrifice fly from center fielder Tori Balta ’14.

    Cornell seized control of the game with a four-run second inning that extended its lead to 6–1. The Big Red also got a run in the fifth and added three more in the sixth.

    The Elis’ second run came in the fifth stanza when they loaded the bases and scored on a sacrifice fly from shortstop Meg Johnson ’12.

    “They didn’t come out here and solidly beat us, even though the scoreboard looks like it,” Westman said. “We kind of helped them beat us, so while that’s frustrating, it does give us hope and confidence that we can go against other Ivy teams and come out on the right end.”

    The Elis continued league action the next day with a doubleheader at Princeton. Though the Bulldogs cruised to a 9–0 win in the first game, the Tigers took the nightcap, 13–12, on a walk-off homer. Dunham was stellar in the first game, pitching a three-hit shutout to help the Bulldogs earn their first Ivy League win of the season and break their ten-game skid. The Elis were also strong at the plate and finished the game with 12 hits, including homers from Ong and third baseman Christy Nelson ’13.

    “It was really nice to get our first Ivy win,” Ong said. “It was a great team effort and everyone contributed.”

    Yale got all the runs it needed in the third, when it exploded for seven runs. The Elis loaded the bases after Balta and left fielder Virginia Waldrop ’12 both singled and Ong walked. The Bulldogs got on the board after second baseman Katie Yanagisawa ’11 reached on an error, bringing in Balta from third. A single from first baseman Mariclaire Rebman ’11 drove in Waldrop, and Ong and Yanagisawa scored on a double by Johnson. Nelson then hit a three-run shot down the left field line to put the Bulldogs up 7–0.

    Yale added two runs in the sixth on an RBI single from Johnson.

    In the second game, the Bulldogs rallied from an eight-run deficit to tie the game, but Sarah Rounsifer’s walk-off homer in the bottom of the seventh kept the Elis from completing the comeback.

    Trailing 9–1 after four innings, the Elis got back in the game with seven runs in the fifth. Balta and Waldrop both walked to open the frame and scored after Ong hit her second home run of the day to cut the deficit to 9–4.

    “I wasn’t trying to hit a home run,” Ong said. “I was just trying to move the runners over. We were all over this pitcher, so it was just a matter of time before the rally got started.”

    Yale got three more runs on RBI doubles from Johnson and Westman, and an RBI single from Waldrop brought the Bulldogs within one run.

    Though the Tigers opened up a 12–8 lead after scoring three runs in the fifth, the Elis responded by scoring twice in the sixth and twice in the seventh to tie the game at 12–12.

    But the Bulldogs’ hopes for a comeback were crushed after Rounsifer homered in the bottom of the seventh to give the home team the win.

    “Even though we didn’t end up winning the game, it really showed that our team has character,” Ong said. “Being able to come back when you are down that much shows heart.”

    Yale is off until Wednesday when it travels to Providence for a doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.

  2. SOFTBALL | Ivy play begins on the road

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    The softball team kicks off Ivy League play on the road this weekend with doubleheaders against Cornell and Princeton.

    Yale (6–10) will look to break its eight-game losing streak when it faces the Big Red (11–11–1) on Saturday and the Tigers (8–12) on Sunday.

    The Bulldogs are coming off a mid-week doubleheader loss to Fairfield on Wednesday. Though the Elis were defeated 8–5 in the opener and 11–3 in the nightcap, their bats came alive in the two games to finish with a combined 19 hits. It was a marked improvement from Yale’s previous six games in which the Bulldogs batted just .201 as a team. The Elis have a combined .274 batting average and a 3.87 ERA going into the weekend.

    “The defense and the offense are going to come together for Ivy [League play], so I think we’re ready,” captain and catcher McKynlee Westman ’11 said on Wednesday.

    The Bulldogs’ weekend begins on Saturday when they travel to Ithaca, N.Y., for a pair of games against the Big Red. Cornell has momentum going into the matchup after sweeping doubleheaders against Mount St. Mary’s and Bucknell at the Mount St. Mary’s Invite last weekend.

    The Big Red are currently hitting .265 as a team with a 2.64 ERA. Cornell has three batters who are batting over .300 in its lineup. Marissa Amiraian leads the team with a .383 average and is followed by Kristen Towne (.368) and Erin Belles (.333).

    Pitcher Elizabeth Dalrymple has been strong for the Big Red in the circle this season and is 6–3 with a 0.83 ERA and a .177 opposing batting average.

    Cornell swept the doubleheader against the Bulldogs last year at Dewitt Family Field. In the first game, Dalrymple threw a three-hit shutout against the Elis en route to a 3–0 win. The Big Red also took the nightcap, 7–3.

    On Sunday, Yale will travel to New Jersey to take on Princeton in another doubleheader. The Tigers recently dropped a twinbill against Central Connecticut on Wednesday, falling 5–4 in eight innings and 19–4 in five.

    Princeton is batting .257 as a team with a 5.11 ERA. Lizzy Pierce has been the Tigers’ greatest offensive threat so far this season and currently has a team-best .356 batting average. Sarah Rounsifer and Kelsey VandeBergh have also had solid starts to the season and are hitting .355 and .320, respectively.

    The Elis swept the Tigers in last year’s doubleheader for the first time in Yale history. The Bulldogs scored a combined 19 runs to lift them over Princeton, 11–2 and 8–6. Third baseman Christy Nelson ’13 went four-for-six with four RBIs in the two games.

    Yale will face off against Cornell on Saturday starting at 2 p.m. Sunday’s doubleheader against Princeton is slated to begin at 12:30 p.m.

  3. SOFTBALL | Defense falters against Stags

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    The softball team got back on track offensively, but it wasn’t enough to get past Fairfield on Wednesday afternoon at Dewitt Family Field.

    The Bulldogs (6–10) fell to the Stags (10–11) in both games of the doubleheader, 8–5 and 11–3. Yale has now hit an eight-game skid.

    After hitting .201 as a team over the last six games, the Bulldogs finished the day with a combined 19 hits. Shortstop Meg Johnson ’12 had a big day for the Elis, going four for eight at bat, including a three-run homer in the first game.

    “We’re starting to hit the ball, and our defense went out the window,” head coach Barbara Reinalda said. “We just have to keep them from scoring too many runs, bottom line.”

    Despite trailing 6–0 in the first game, the Bulldogs came back to score five unanswered runs to get back in the game. But the Elis’ rally came up short, as Fairfield scored two insurance runs in the final inning to take the first game, 8–5.

    The Stags first got on the board in the second inning. With the bases loaded and with two outs, Kimi Kurata doubled to clear the bases and give Fairfield a 3–0 lead. Kurata was brought home by an RBI triple from Kristen Filicia, who also scored during the same play on a throwing error.

    Alli Wigand extended the Stags’ lead to 6–0 in the top of the third when she drove in Kristina Lingo from second with an RBI single.

    Still, the Bulldogs battled back in the bottom of the third to make it a close game. Liz Tutino ’13 opened the inning with a walk and advanced to third on a double off the bat of second baseman Katie Yanagisawa ’11. After Tutino scored on a base hit from Mariclaire Rebman ’11, Johnson hit a three-run homer to center field that cut the deficit to 6–4.

    The Elis made it a one-run game in the fifth after Rebman scored on a wild pitch.

    “[After the game against Army] we were talking about how we wanted to keep the fight in us no matter what the score was, and we did a really good job of that in the first game starting out 6–0 and coming back and getting five runs,” captain and catcher McKynlee Westman ’11 said.

    But the Stags added two insurance runs in the top of the seventh to build an 8–5 lead that the Bulldogs could not overcome.

    The Bulldogs fell behind 4–0 early in the second game of the doubleheader, but they fought back to pull within two runs. However, the Stags used a five-run seventh inning to break open the game and come out with an 11–3 win over the Bulldogs.

    In the first inning, Fairfield had runners on second and third with two outs and loaded the bases after Wigand was hit by a pitch. Rae Ball then singled to knock in one run and keep the bases loaded. The Stags took a 2–0 lead after Rachel Beaudoin walked to bring another runner home.

    Fairfield got two more runs in the next frame after Tiffany Lawson’s single was followed by a home run from Lauren Liseth.

    The Bulldogs got on the board in the second inning after left fielder Chelsey Locarno ‘12 hit an RBI single to drive in center fielder Tori Balta ’14 from third.

    In the fourth inning, Virginia Waldrop ’12 singled and later scored on an RBI double from right fielder Jennifer Ong ’13 to cut Fairfield’s lead to 4–2.

    Though the Bulldogs and the Stags both scored runs in the fifth to keep it a two-run game, Fairfield expanded its lead to 6–3 in the sixth. The Stags then exploded for five runs in the seventh inning. Fairfield took advantage of two Yale errors to score four unearned runs and pull away with the 11–3 win.

    “Obviously it’s never fun to lose, but there were a lot of improvements we made in the batter’s box today,” Westman said. “Even if you look at the scorebook it might not say we had that many hits, but we had some really hard shots right at people, so I’m happy to see us come alive in the batter’s box. There are a lot of things on defense that kind of fell through today, but we’ve been strong on defense all season so I’m not worried about that coming back this weekend.”

    Yale opens Ivy League play on the road this weekend with doubleheaders against Cornell and Princeton. The Elis will face off against the Big Red this Friday starting at 2 p.m. First pitch for the twinbill against the Tigers is slated for Sunday at 12:30 p.m.

  4. SOFTBALL | Elis drop two against Army

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    The softball team’s struggles to put runs on the board continued this weekend in its doubleheader at Army on Saturday.

    Army (12–8) collected a combined 16 hits to propel past the Bulldogs (6–8), winning the first game 12–0 and the nightcap 6–1. Though the Elis (6–8) were able to put runners in scoring position throughout the two games, they struggled to capitalize on scoring opportunities. Yale has now dropped six consecutive games and has scored only five runs during that stretch.

    In their first game against the Black Knights, the Elis could muster only two hits against them: singles by right fielder Jennifer Ong ’13 and second baseman Katie Yanagisawa ’11.

    The Bulldogs had an early scoring chance in the first inning when they had two runners on base with two outs after Ong opened the inning with a single and first baseman Mariclaire Rebman ‘11 walked. But Army pitcher Shawna Bleyl retired the next batter to leave the two runners stranded.

    “We just weren’t really getting the bat on the ball,” left fielder Chelsey Locarno ’12 said. “We had a couple good hits here and there, but to be successful we just need to string them together and get our runners in.”

    The Black Knights got on the board in the second when they loaded the bases with one out. April Ortenzo knocked in two runs with an RBI single, and Alex Reynolds added one more with an RBI ground out to give Army an early 3–0 lead.

    Army broke the game open with a six-run third inning. The Black Knights scored two runs off back-to-back RBI doubles and got another after Ortenzo walked with the bases loaded. Reynolds then reached on a fielder’s choice to bring in a runner from third and extend the Black Knights’ lead to 7–0. Army got two more runs off an RBI double from Alexis AuBuchon.

    The Black Knights also added three runs in the fourth.

    Army kept its offense rolling in the second game and used two home runs to lift it to a 6–1 win over the Elis. Army pitcher Hayley Pypes threw a complete game, allowing just one run on five hits with four strikeouts.

    Pitcher Chelsey Dunham ’14 went six innings for the Bulldogs, giving up three earned runs on eight hits with two strikeouts and three walks.

    In the second game, Army opened up an early 1–0 lead in the first after Amanda Nguyen scored from third on an RBI single from Reynolds.

    Still, the Bulldogs tied the game in the second frame. Rebman led off the stanza with a double and advanced to third on a ground out by shortstop Meg Johnson ’12. Rebman scored on a sacrifice fly from captain and catcher McKynlee Westman ’11.

    The Black Knights regained the lead in the following inning when Ortenzo hit a three-run homer to give Army a 4–1 lead. Army’s final two runs also came off the long ball after Pypes went deep in the third.

    The Bulldogs had a chance to chip away at the Black Knights’ lead in the fourth after Rebman and Westman both walked and third baseman Liz Tutino ‘13 singled to load the bases, but Pypes struck out the next batter to leave all three runners stranded. The Elis loaded the bases again in the fifth with no outs, but Pypes retired the next three batters to escape the inning unscathed.

    “What’s really tough for us is that we keep leaving runners on base,” Locarno said. “But I think we’re still feeling pretty positive because our hits will fall and our coach said she thinks they’re just all going to come in one game, so it’s going to be really tough for whoever we’re playing. I think everyone pretty much knows that it’ll happen.”

    The Bulldogs are off until Wednesday, when they host Fairfield in a doubleheader. The first game is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. at Dewitt Family Field.

  5. SOFTBALL | Black Knights await softball team

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    Bad weather may have kept the softball team off the field Wednesday, but sunny skies are forecasted for this weekend and for Yale’s trip to West Point, N.Y., to face Army (10–8) in a doubleheader.

    The Bulldogs will go into the matchup looking to break a four-game skid. After opening the season with a 6–2 record, the Elis dropped consecutive doubleheaders to Central Connecticut and Bryant last week. The Bulldogs’ offense scored just four runs in those four games. It had averaged 4.5 runs up to that point.

    “Pretty much if we hit we’re going to win the games [against Army],” head coach Barbara Reinalda said. “Right now we’re struggling just a little bit with our hitting. If we can get our hitting underway then we’ll be fine.”

    The Elis are currently batting .279 as a team and have a 2.59 ERA. Despite the team’s recent struggle to put runs on the board, the Bulldogs still have four players hitting above .300. Outfielder Jennifer Ong ’13 leads the team in batting at .400 and is followed by second baseman Katie Yanagisawa ’11 (.353), outfielder Tori Balta ’14 (.345) and third baseman Christy Nelson ’13 (.316).

    Army enters the matchup coming off a doubleheader sweep of Siena and the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay last Saturday at the Rebel Games in Kissimmee, Fla. The Black Knights started their season by going 4–6 over their first 10 games and had a five-game losing streak going into the Rebel Games. However, Army snapped that skid in its first game in Florida with a 10–3 win over Rider and went on to go 6–2 during its stay at the Rebel Games.

    The Black Knights are currently batting .264 and have a 2.85 ERA. Army is led by freshman Amanda Nguyen, who has a .410 batting average. Freshman April Lorenzo and sophomore Alex Reynolds have also been solid at the plate for the Black Knights and are hitting .306 and .300, respectively.

    The Bulldogs split last year’s doubleheader with Army. Though Yale took the first game, 4–1, the Black Knights rebounded in the nightcap with a 7–2 win. It was the first time Army had defeated the Elis since 2004.

    First pitch for the first game is slated for 1 p.m. at the Army Softball Complex in West Point, N.Y.

  6. SOFTBALL | Bulldogs end break at .500

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    After a hot start to the season, the softball team dropped consecutive doubleheaders and ended spring break with a .500 record.

    It was a marked improvement from last season, which saw the Bulldogs go 2–8 over its first two weeks.

    The Elis (6–6) opened their season in Kissimmee, Fla., where they competed in the Rebel Games, a tournament that featured more that 30 softball teams. Yale got off to a fast start, winning its first three games against Loyola (Ill.), La Salle and Florida A&M. Yale dropped its first game of the season against Eastern Kentucky hours after the win over Florida A&M. The Elis then got a break from action, as their doubleheader against Lehigh and Detroit-Mercy was cancelled due to rain.

    Yale split its next doubleheader, shutting out Wagner for a 4–0 win before falling 7–4 to Holy Cross. Still, the Bulldogs rebounded the next day and closed out the Rebel Games with a doubleheader sweep of Hartford and Rider. The Elis left the Sunshine State with a 6–2 record.

    “We were very happy [with our performance at the Rebel Games],” captain and catcher McKynlee Westman ’11 said. “Our team meshed in Florida. There’s a good feeling you get when a team just works well together, and I felt like we got that with our group in Florida.”

    However, the Bulldogs have slowed down since returning from the Rebel Games and have hit a four-game skid in the past week. In that time frame, they have scored just four runs.

    Yale dropped both its games at Central Connecticut last Thursday, falling 5–1 to the Blue Devils in the first game and 8–2 in the second.

    The Elis then returned to New Haven, where they were swept by Bryant in their home opener last Saturday. The visitors defeated Yale 6–1 in the first game and 3–0 in the second.

    “We could have done a lot better than we did,” outfielder Jennifer Ong ’13 said. “For whatever reason we just weren’t hitting like we were in Florida. If we could have backed our pitchers up in might have been different. We just couldn’t string hits together.”

    In the first game, Laura Bowen hit a leadoff home run off pitcher Jackie Manzer ’13 that gave Bryant a 1–0 edge to start the game.

    It was the only hit and earned run that Manzer allowed through 5.1 innings. She also had seven strikeouts and three walks in the outing.

    The Bulldogs got on the board in the fourth inning. After third baseman Christy Nelson ’13 walked and advanced to second on a ground out by first baseman Mariclaire Rebman ’11, shortstop Meg Johnson ’12 drove Nelson in with a single to center field that tied the game.

    Bryant regained the lead in the sixth, taking advantage of two Yale errors to score four unearned runs and go up 5–1. The visitors added their final run in the seventh.

    The second game of the day was a pitchers duel between Bryant’s Brittany Hart and freshman Chelsey Dunham ’14. The visitors ultimately came out on top, with Hart pitching a complete game shutout en route to a 3–0 Bryant win.

    Dunham took the loss despite also tossing a complete game. She allowed two earned runs and struck out four in the effort.

    The Bulldogs had a chance to get on the board first in the third when they had two runners in scoring position after catcher Chelsea Janes ’12 singled and moved to third on a double from Ong. But the Elis could not drive them in, abating the threat.

    The game remained scoreless until the sixth, when right fielder Lauren Guy scored from third on a passed ball to give Bryant a 1–0 lead. The visitors scored two runs to expand their lead to 3–0 in the seventh.

    Still, the Bulldogs had an opportunity to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh. First baseman Kelsey Warkentine ’13 reached first on an error, and pinch runner Kristen Leung ’14 advanced to second on a passed ball. Center fielder Tori Balta ’14 then walked to bring the tying run to the plate, but Hart worked her way out of the jam to end the Elis’ hopes for a rally.

    Despite the team’s recent offensive struggles, Westman said she believes the team’s offense will get back on track soon.

    “Our bats were hotter in Florida,” she said. “We haven’t been as hot since we’ve come back, but I guarantee we’ll get right back.”

    Yale returns to action Wednesday when it hosts Marist in a doubleheader. The first game is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. at Dewitt Family Field.

  7. SOFTBALL | Softball opens season in Florida

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    After a month of practicing on the rubber surface of a track, the softball team is ready to return to the dirt of a softball field.

    The wait is almost over for the Bulldogs, who will open their 2011 campaign on March 8 at the Rebel Games tournament in Kissimmee, Fla.

    The Elis are coming off a disappointing season in which they finished 11–28 overall and 6–14 in the Ivy League. After losing five seniors to graduation, this year’s squad is younger and features four freshmen that are poised to make a big impact on the team.

    “I don’t know whether to call it a challenge or an advantage,” captain and catcher McKynlee Westman ’11 said. “Coming in with fresh faces and fresh mindsets can be an excellent thing for the team, so at this point I think I’d like to call that an advantage rather than a challenge.”

    The infield is projected to be a stronghold for the Elis. Kelsey Warkentine ’13, who was third on the team in home runs last season, will cover first base, with Mariclaire Rebman ’11 also expected to see time there.

    After missing most of last season with an injury, Katie Yanagisawa ’11 will return to the field as the team’s second baseman. Meg Johnson ’12 will cover shortstop for the Bulldogs, a position she has held for two years. Johnson led the team in batting (.324) and home runs (5) last year.

    Rounding out the infield will be sophomores Christy Nelson ’13 and Liz Tutino ’13, who will split time at the hot corner. Nelson, who was second in the team in home runs (4) and RBIs (16), is also expected to add some pop in the lineup.

    “Infield’s looking really good,” Westman said. “We’ve got girls who’ve been here for a while, they know how to work with each other. They’re shaping up well.”

    Westman will play most of the games behind the plate, and Chelsea Janes ’12 will also see some action at the spot.

    The Bulldogs’ pitching staff will feature many fresh faces, as Jackie Manzer ’13 is the team’s only returning pitcher. Freshmen Chelsey Dunham ’14, Kristen Leung ’14 and Alex Lucas ’14 are all expected to see some time in the circle this season.

    “We have a young defensive staff, but they’re pretty skilled, so it’s going to be exciting to see how they come out and bring it for college ball,” Westman said.

    The Bulldogs will also have some newcomers in the outfield. Though the Elis lost their all time hits leader, center fielder Ashley Sloan ’10, to graduation, freshman Tori Balta ’14 is expected to step in to fill the void. During her senior year at Valencia High School, Balta batted .308 with a .446 slugging percentage, which was ranked second in the nation and first in California.

    Jennifer Ong ’13 is likely to take over right field, while Virginia Waldrop ’12 and Chelsey Locarno ’12 will take turns covering left field.

    The Elis will get their first taste of competition this season next Tuesday in Florida, with games against Loyola (Ill.) and La Salle. Westman said she believes the team is fully prepared for the season to begin.

    “Mentally we’re so ready to be out there and the physical part will fall into place,” she said.

  8. SOFTBALL | Crimson have no trouble in sweep

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    The softball team was two outs from splitting a doubleheader with archrival Harvard, but a 10-run explosion by the Crimson in the seventh inning of game two capped off a road sweep for the Crimson (20–20, 11–3 Ivy) Saturday at Dewitt Family Field.

    The Bulldogs (9–24, 4–10) were shutout 6–0 by Harvard in the first game before losing the second game in the seventh.

    “After the games, our coach told us we are a much stronger team than what we showed Harvard on Saturday,” catcher McKynlee Westman ’11 said. “We’re really excited to come out and show Harvard how much stronger we really are in our next doubleheader.”

    The second doubleheader against the Cantabs, originally scheduled for Sunday, was pushed back to Tuesday due to rain.

    In the first game, the Elis struggled to hit against Crimson pitcher Rachel Brown, who leads the Ivy League in ERA. Brown took a no-hitter into the seventh inning before leftfielder Allie Canulli ’10 spoiled Brown’s bid with a single, which would be Yale’s only hit of the game.

    Brown allowed only four baserunners the entire game, striking out 16 en route to a one-hit shutout.

    Pitcher Holly Gutterud ’10 pitched a complete game in a losing effort, giving up two earned runs while striking out three. The Bulldogs committed two errors, which also led to two Cantab runs.

    The second game would be much different.

    The Elis grabbed a 1–0 lead in the third inning off an RBI single from shortstop Christy Nelson ’13. Yale added to the lead in the fourth when rightfielder Lauren Huddleston ’10 led off with a single before being replaced by pinch-runner Chelsey Locarno ’12. Locarno was then thrown out as catcher Lexi Peacock ’12 reached on a fielder’s choice. Centerfielder and captain Ashley Sloan ’10 doubled to score Peacock before a double from Canulli scored Sloan. Yale tooks its 3–0 lead all the way into the seventh inning.

    Unfortunately for the Elis, the lead would not stand. After pitcher Kayla Kuretich ’10 got the first out of the inning, the floodgates opened, as the Cantabs batted home 10 runs off seven hits and two errors.

    “Things kind of broke down in the seventh inning,” Canulli said. “It’s unfortunate because we played really well before that inning.”

    The mistakes proved infectious during the inning, as each error led to more mistakes, Westman said.

    When the damage was done, Harvard escaped with a 10–3 win.

    Both teams finished the game with 11 hits. Sloan, Nelson, Peacock and designated hitter Meg Johnson ’12 each had two hits. Kuretich gave up five earned runs, all in the seventh inning, and struck out two through 6.1 innings of work. Gutterud got the last two outs for the Elis.

    Sloan’s two hits put her career total at 186, four shy of Yale’s all-time softball hits record.

    “We’re just trying to take advantage of every moment we have,” Sloan said of the seniors’ final games. “It ends pretty quickly.”

    Yale is currently third in the Ivy League North Division, and already out of contention for an Ivy League championship. Harvard currently leads Dartmouth by one game in the North Division.

    The Bulldogs will try to get revenge against the Cantabs on Tuesday.

    “These games are important for us,” Canulli said. “We’re looking forward to getting a pair of wins.”

    First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. at Dewitt Family Field.

  9. SOFTBALL | Pitching falters in losses

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    Monday went a lot like Sunday did for the softball team. After being swept by Dartmouth on Sunday, the Big Green swept the Bulldogs once more as Yale fell 7–3 in the first game before losing the second game 11–3 at Sachem Field.

    “It was a rough weekend,” centerfielder and captain Ashley Sloan ’10 said. “We wanted to win these two games, but we couldn’t pull it off.”

    In the first game, Dartmouth (11–20, 9–3) struck first, getting a run in the first inning to take an early lead. The Elis (9–22, 4–8 Ivy) responded with a run in the second inning off an RBI double from pitcher Holly Gutterud ’10.

    The Big Green answered back with three runs in the bottom of the second to take a 4–1 lead.

    The Elis slowly cut down the lead in the third and fourth innings, scoring a run in each, including a solo home run from third baseman Christy Nelson ’13 — her fourth of the season.

    Dartmouth’s offense would not let up, scoring three more runs in the bottom of the sixth to push the lead to 7–3 and put the game away.

    Six different Bulldogs had a hit as the Elis outhit the Big Green 8–6 in a losing effort. Gutterud gave up three earned runs and walked six through two innings, while pitcher Kayla Kuretich ’10 gave up three earned runs and walked three through four innings of work.

    In the second game, shortstop Meg Johnson ’12 homered in the first inning to give the Elis an early 1–0 lead. But the Big Green erupted for eight runs in the second, getting six hits and chasing pitcher Jackie Manzer ’13 out of the game.

    Yale cut into the lead in the fifth with a two-run single from Sloan, but it proved too little too late, as a Dartmouth three-run homer in the bottom of the fifth made the game 11–3, thus ending the contest after the inning due to the mercy rule.

    Overall, Yale mustered only three hits in the game in contrast to Dartmouth’s 10 hits. Manzer lost her seventh game of the season, giving up three earned runs and five hits through one and two-thirds innings. Kuretich pitched two and two-thirds innings, giving up three earned runs.

    Despite falling four times to a divisional opponent, the Elis are proud of their effort and are confident for the rest of the season, Johnson said.

    “We played hard,” she said. “The scores aren’t an indication of how hard we played. We’re keeping our heads up.”

    Over the four-game series with the Big Green, Johnson emerged as an offensive force, batting .667 (8-for-12), including two home runs and five RBI.

    With the wins, Dartmouth is now tied for the lead in the Ivy League North Division with Harvard. Yale is currently in third place.

    The Elis were scheduled to play Wagner on Wednesday, but the doubleheader has been cancelled in light of postponements this past weekend. The Bulldogs will be back in action at home this weekend against Harvard.

    “We have to stay positive the rest of the season,” leftfielder Allie Canulli ’10 said. “I definitely think we’ll be motivated and ready to go against Harvard.”

    The games begin at 12:30 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday at Dewitt Family Field.

  10. SOFTBALL | Elis drop two games to Big Green on road

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    The rain did not bode well for the softball team this past weekend. On Sunday, the Bulldogs (9–20, 4–6 Ivy) lost the first game of a doubleheader 11–3 to Dartmouth (9–20, 7–3) before losing a deflating, 10–9 extra-inning contest in Hanover, N.H.

    The doubleheader, originally scheduled for Saturday, was postponed to Sunday because of rain, pushing back Sunday’s doubleheader to today and forcing the Elis to spend the night in Hanover.

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    “We have to miss all our classes on Monday,” shortstop Meg Johnson ’12 said. “It’s tough because it’s the last week of classes.”

    Yale came out of the gates hot at the plate, scoring two runs in the first inning of the first game. Third baseman Christy Nelson ’13 and pitcher Kayla Kuretich ’10 each had an RBI in the frame.

    But the lead didn’t last long. The Big Green’s Christy Austin sluggedd a three-run homer in the second to give Dartmouth the lead. An RBI double from Johnson tied the game in the top of the third.

    The rain became a factor again when the game was delayed for 20 minutes in between the top and bottom of the third inning due to rain.

    “The rain delay was really frustrating,” Johnson said. “They came back hot and ready to go. We came back cold.”

    After the delay, the Big Green gained momentum, scoring four runs in the bottom of the inning to take a commanding 7-3 lead from which they would not look back. Dartmouth added two runs each in the fourth and fifth before the game was ended 11–3 after five innings because of the mercy rule.

    Overall, the Big Green outhit the Elis 11–6, including three home runs.

    Pitcher Holly Gutterud ’10 lost her sixth game of the season, giving up seven earned runs while striking out three. Two Eli errors led to two unearned runs for the Big Green.

    In between games, the Blue focused on relaxing and trying to overcome the pressure of a crucial Ivy League game, leftfielder Allie Canulli ’10 said.

    But Dartmouth grabbed an early lead anyway with a run in the first inning before the Bulldog bats delivered four runs in the third inning.

    Johnson got on base with a double before pitcher Holly Gutterud ’10 was hit by a pitch. Then a Canulli single scored Johnson before first baseman Kelsey Warkentine ’13 homered to right field to make the game 4–1.

    Yale added a run in the fourth, a run in the fifth, and two runs in the sixth while the Big Green scored once more to make it 8–2 going into the bottom of the sixth when the Elis lost control of the contest.

    Dartmouth scored five runs in the sixth, changing the momentum of the game and making it 8–7.

    Big Green designated hitter Molly Khalil knocked in a run in the bottom of the seventh — and final — inning to tie the game and force extra innings.

    “The game just slipped away from us,” pitcher Jackie Manzer ’13 said. “They definitely didn’t deserve to win. It was our game to win.”

    Manzer and Dartmouth pitcher Kat Hicks dueled in the final innings, preventing the teams from scoring before the Big Green’s Khalil ended the game with a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth.

    Johnson had one of her best games of the season, going 4-for-4 with two RBIs and a home run.

    “I’ve been struggling of late,” Johnson said. “My teammates took the pressure away today.”

    Warkentine had three RBIs while rightfielder Chelsea Janes ’12 had a hit and two RBIs. Eight different Bulldogs had a hit but the Elis were still outhit 15-14.

    Kuretich pitched five and a third innings, giving up seven earned runs while striking out three. Manzer pitched three innings and lost her seventh game of the season after giving up the game-winning home run.

    “I am one hundred percent confident we’re going to bounce back tomorrow,” Manzer said. “None of us want to feel this way again.”

    The two teams take the field for another doubleheader today. The first pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.

  11. SOFTBALL | Bulldogs on both sides of sweeps

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    It was a weekend of sweeps for the softball team. After being swept by Cornell (19–8, 5–1 Ivy) in a doubleheader on Saturday, the Bulldogs (8–17, 4–4) swept two games from Princeton (7–25, 1–7) for the first time ever on Sunday at DeWitt Family Field.

    The doubleheader against Cornell, originally scheduled for Friday afternoon, was postponed to Saturday due to rain, pushing the doubleheader against Princeton to Sunday.

    The Bulldogs began the series against Cornell once again struggling at the plate as they had in their previous game against Providence. Yale failed to earn a hit for the first three innings of the first game as Cornell’s pitcher Elizabeth Dalrymple gave the Elis trouble. Overall, Dalrymple retired the first 10 Yale batters before giving up singles to second baseman Katie Yanagisawa ’11 and shortstop Meg Johnson ’12 in the fourth.

    First baseman Mariclaire Rebman ’11 earned the only other Bulldog hit in the fifth, as Cornell earned a 3–0 shutout victory.

    “We put a lot of pressure on ourselves because we knew Cornell was a good team,” pitcher Holly Gutterud ’10 said. “We were very tense.”

    In the loss, the Bulldog defense made plays in the field, highlighted by a shoestring catch from leftfielder Allie Canulli ’10 in the second and a diving snag from third baseman Christy Nelson ’13 in the fourth inning. Gutterud gave up three earned runs and six hits through four innings while pitcher Jackie Manzer ’13 gave up no runs or hits while striking out two through three innings of work.

    The Bulldog offense came alive in the second game, as the team batted in 12 hits. Nevertheless, the Elis still struggled to score, finally scoring the first run of the day in the fourth inning on a Canulli home run to make the score 3–1.

    Cornell scored twice in the fifth and twice in the sixth before Yale got two runs in the bottom of the sixth off a two-run double by catcher McKynlee Westman ’11. Cornell finished the game with a 7–3 win.

    Yanagisawa had three hits while pitcher Kayla Kuretich ’10 knocked in two hits. Kuretich gave up five earned runs and struck out two through five innings while Manzer pitched two innings in relief, giving up two earned runs.

    “It was pretty rough,” utility player Liz Tutino ’13 said of the losses. “We just had to refocus.”

    The Elis certainly refocused the next day against Princeton, as they sent 10 batters to the plate and knocked in six runs in the first inning of the first game.

    “We were definitely motivated after losing to Cornell,” Canulli said. “We were focused on our hitting.”

    Yale took a 6–2 lead to the second, where an RBI double from Kuretich and an RBI single from Canulli gave the team a 8–2 lead. Nelson hit two-run single in the third to increase the lead to 10–2.

    Utility player Chelsea Janes ’12 added an RBI double in the fourth to make it 11–2. The game was ended after four and a half innings due to the mercy rule.

    “We came out ready to work,” Gutterud said. “We were having fun.”

    Gutterud got her fourth win of the season after pitching all five innings, giving up only two earned runs.

    In all, nine different players for the Bulldogs had a hit in the game. Nelson and Canulli had two hits each, as the Elis outhit Princeton 11-5.

    The second game would be closer. Princeton took an early 2–0 lead in the first before Canulli scored off an error in the second to cut the deficit in half. Yale exploded for four runs in the third, capped by a two-out, two-run single from Rebman. Centerfielder and captain Ashley Sloan ’10 had an RBI single in the fourth to make it 6–2 before Princeton scored four times in the fifth to tie the game.

    Canulli had the game-winning hit in the bottom of the sixth, knocking in a two-run single with two outs, giving the Elis an 8–6 win.

    Manzer struck out five in 2.2 innings of relief to earn her first career victory. Sloan was 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI.

    The Bulldogs will next play a doubleheader at Sacred Heart on Wednesday.

    “We want to keep building on this momentum,” Gutterud said. “We’re confident we can keep this up.”

    The first pitch against Sacred Heart is scheduled for 3 p.m.