The dust has settled from the final weekend of Ivy League softball, and Cornell and Dartmouth have emerged as contenders for the Ivy title. Though Southern Division champion Cornell clinched last weekend, Dartmouth wasn’t crowned Northern Division champion until its final game this past weekend.
The Big Green (22-20, 13-7 Ivy) played a four-game series against Harvard (26-15, 12-8 Ivy) this weekend. Heading into Saturday’s doubleheader, Dartmouth led the reigning Northern Division champions by one game. As a result, the Big Green would have to take at least two games from the Crimson in order to clinch a spot in the Ivy playoff.
Despite having the home-field advantage for Saturday’s doubleheader, Dartmouth was swept by Harvard. The Big Green dropped the first matchup 7-3 despite giving up only one earned run. Dartmouth’s third baseman Ashley Gleason committed four errors, which resulted in six unearned Crimson runs.
Sloppy fielding plagued the Big Green in the second game as well, resulting in a 6-3 loss.
After dropping the first two games of the series, Dartmouth needed to sweep Sunday’s doubleheader at Harvard to win a trip to the Ivy League playoffs. The Big Green managed to pull off the sweep, winning the first contest 2-0 and the second 5-2.
In the first matchup, Hillary Barker pitched the complete game for Dartmouth, giving up only four hits while striking out four. Alyssa Parker led the Big Green offense with two hits and two RBI. Parker also managed two hits in the second game, adding a run and an RBI.
Dartmouth will play a pair of games against Boston College on Tuesday before traveling to Cornell for a three-game playoff.
The Big Red (40-10, 17-3 Ivy) swept Princeton (14-22, 8-12 Ivy) this past weekend, capping its impressive season. In fact, Cornell outscored the Tigers 23-5 over the course of the four games.
In the first doubleheader, the Big Red took the first decision 5-1 and the second 7-0. Ashley Garvey led the Big Red offense on Saturday, going 3-for-7 with two runs and three RBI.
Elizabeth Dalrymple and Ali Tomlinson both put up strong pitching performances. Each threw a complete game and combined to strike out 16 batters.
Sunday’s doubleheader was held in Ithaca and produced similar results for Cornell, who won the first game 4-2 and the second 7-2. Tomlinson impressed again, going 2-for-3 with a run and three RBI in the first game before pitching seven solid innings in the second.
When Dartmouth and Cornell met earlier this season, they split a doubleheader in Hanover, N.H. The Big Green took the first game 7-5 in 10 innings, while the Big red won the second contest 10-2 in six innings.
In the first game, Dartmouth’s Leigha Clarkson hit a walk-off two-run homer in the bottom of the tenth to give the Big Green the victory.
In the second game, Cornell’s Elise Menaker and Devon March led their team’s explosive offense. Each had three hits—Menaker had two runs and an RBI, and March added a run and two RBI.
The first two games of the three-game playoff are scheduled for Friday at Cornell. If a third game is necessary, it will be held on Saturday.
In other league action, Penn (15-18-1, 10-10 Ivy) took three of four games from Columbia (16-34, 4-16 Ivy) to finish second behind Cornell in the Southern Division. The Lions finished last in the division behind third-place Princeton.
Yale (22-22, 11-9 Ivy) swept Brown (12-26, 5-15 Ivy) to take third in the Northern Division behind Dartmouth and Harvard. The Bears finished last in their division.
Whether the Ivy League champion will be the Big Red or the Big Green has yet to be decided, and this weekend’s match between the two division winners will determine who takes the title.