HANOVER — Dartmouth softball could not muster enough offense to knock off Columbia in its home opener on Friday afternoon, falling to the Lions 4-1 at Dartmouth Softball Park.
The Big Green fell into an early 4-0 hole by the end of the third inning and a late push in the bottom of the seventh failed to breakthrough.
“I think we have a lot more in us,” said Big Green Head Coach Jen Williams after the game.
Dartmouth amassed just four hits on the afternoon and committed three errors in what was its third consecutive loss.
“We talked to the team after the game about both sides of the ball, but especially offensively, they have to be attack-minded, they can’t be passive at all,” Williams said. “Although they weren’t striking out necessarily, we know that our team can absolutely attack the ball with more intention than they were today.”
Columbia got after Dartmouth’s freshman starting pitcher, Charley Maddox, early.
In the top of the first, the Lions got runners into scoring position after a single, an error and a sacrifice fly.
However, Maddox was able to get out of the jam, forcing a pop out in foul territory to get out of the inning unscathed.
Three Big Green batters went up in the bottom half of the first frame, and they were sent down in short order by Columbia freshman pitcher Mads Lawson.
The Lions’ starter went the distance, allowing one run on four hits and striking out four Dartmouth batters.
While Dartmouth’s offense struggled early, Columbia’s kept building, and it broke through in the top of the second inning.
The Lions loaded the bases with one out after a single and two walks.
A double drove in two runs to give Columbia a 2-0 lead.
The Lions added another run on a groundout to short before Maddox could escape the inning.
After the Big Green left two runners stranded in the bottom half of the inning, the Lions built on their lead in the top of the third.
A one-out double and a throwing error put Columbia up 4-0.
From there, the Dartmouth bats struggled to get going but Maddox battled through some advantageous scoring chances for Columbia.
“She’s a freshman, she’s learning as she goes, figuring out how to work with different umpires and their zones,” Williams said of her starter’s outing. “This umpire wasn’t giving us much on the inside corner, and against a great pull team like Columbia, that’s tough.”
Maddox threw all seven innings for the Big Green, allowing four runs, three of which were earned, on eight hits.
A stellar defensive play in the top half of the seventh inning brought some needed energy to the Big Green.
With one out and Lions at first and third, Big Green shortstop Justice Malone made a nice catch on a line drive and caught the runner at third base napping for the double play to get out of the inning.
Dartmouth scored its lone run in the final inning on a double by freshman Sydney Herrmann, which scored Malone, who walked to begin the inning.
“This team has really worked out what helps them win, and that’s celebrating small victories, being in an attack-mindset, making sure we’re not letting the game control us, but really take control of the game, and that’s something they found by the end of this game,” Williams said.
Though Dartmouth’s skipper acknowledged that this is something the team needs to do after classes.
“This is also the first time we have ever come and played a game, coming right from classes — so that’s also a little bit of a learning process,” she added.
The loss dropped Dartmouth to 5-14 overall and 3-4 in conference play. The Big Green wrap up the series against the Lions with a doubleheader on Saturday.
