HANOVER — Exactly three fans remained at Dartmouth Softball Park to see Holy Cross ace Kelly Nelson strike out Big Green third baseman Maria Angelino to complete a three-hit shutout in Game 2 of Wednesday’s nonleague doubleheader.
Those who were there earlier in the afternoon, though, saw plenty of excitement.
Dartmouth (5-19, 1-2 Ivy League) won Game 1, 4-1, behind a strong outing from senior left-hander Brooke Plonka, who scattered five hits and struck out eight without issuing a walk.
After a four-run third inning gave the Big Green all they would need in the opener, the Dartmouth bats were shut down in a 5-0 loss in the nightcap, and the rapidly diminishing daylight certainly did not help matters in the late innings.
“My screwball is usually my go-to, and it always has been, but it was on and off today,” Plonka said. “But my curveball came in big today, which is exciting because that’s a pitch I’ve been working on. It was nice to see that come alive.”
After leaving two runners in scoring position in the first inning, the Big Green were in danger of doing the same in the third with the same part of the batting order up. But sophomore catcher Mary Beth Cahalan’s chopper up the middle got through into center field, bringing home two runs and giving Dartmouth the lead. Freshman left fielder Alaana Panu followed with a two-run shot over the left field wall, the first home run of her career.
Plonka gave up her only run on a ground out in the second but got stronger as the innings progressed, stranding a leadoff double in the sixth and striking out the final two batters she faced in a perfect seventh.
“We have been working a lot this year on how to come up and not make any moment too big,” Big Green head coach Jen Williams said. “We saw a lot of people contributing and doing their jobs in that inning, so that was terrific to see. They did it when it counted.”
Freshman right-hander Megan Hagge got the start for Dartmouth in Game 2 and matched zeros with Nelson through three innings before unraveling in the fourth. Following a leadoff walk and a one-out single, Hagge was on the verge of escaping after fielding a comebacker and retiring the lead runner at third base.
But pinch hitter Jessie Nagel lined a two-run double just inside the right-field line to give the Crusaders the lead, and after an error extended the inning, Holy Cross added a third run when Jessica Mott dropped a single just over junior shortstop Kate Farren’s outstretched glove.
Senior Madie Augusto pitched the last three innings for the Big Green, giving up two more runs in the sixth. But the Crusaders wouldn’t need them, as Dartmouth managed just three singles and two walks — one of which was erased on a double play — against Nelson.
“She did a good job mixing pitches, and you have to tip your hat to her,” Cahalan said. “The team as a whole didn’t do a great job making adjustments.”
The doubleheader concluded a five-game homestand for Dartmouth after playing its first 19 away from Hanover, a stretch that included a 12-game losing streak and seven games against Power Five opponents.
Once they came back north, the Big Green dropped two of three in their Ivy League-opening series to Yale, and they’ll be back on the road this weekend to face first-place Princeton, the only team in the Ivy League with an overall record above .500.
As a team, Dartmouth is batting just .196 with an on base-plus-slugging of .542, and before coming home, the Big Green had hit just one home run.
“One of the big things we learned (on the road) is how tenacious we are,” Williams said.
“It’s tough to go down and play that kind of schedule, and that’s something that’s going to serve us well throughout the year. We are still learning how to apply that consistently, and that’s going to be a journey that continues throughout the season, but we know what we need to be successful, and now we’re going to work on how we do that every single game.”
Benjamin Rosenberg can be reached at brosenberg@vnews.com or 603-727-3302.