Courtesy of Dartmouth Athletics
TAMPA, Fla. — No. 16/17 Auburn (13-1) loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh inning, but senior Kristen Rumley got out of a major heart of the lineup jam, as the Dartmouth (1-0) softball team defeated the Tigers, 4-2, on Friday afternoon at the Wilson DeMarini Tournament at South Florida. The win is also the first for head coach Shannon Doepking.
Rumley (1-0) pitched a complete game and allowed two runs on six hits but only secured one strike out. The Dartmouth ace got the Tiger to ground out 11 times and hit into nine fly outs. She also stymied the nationally ranked team into going 2-for-15 with runners on and 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
Dartmouth finished with six hits coming off the bats of sophomores Alyssa Jorgensen and Maddie Damore, who both added a RBI. Classmates Karen Chaw and Chloe Madill and junior Kathy Dzienkowski and Rumley also contributed hits.
The Big Green stuck in the top of the first frame with a two-out RBI single to right field by Damore. The Big Green got their first runner on base with a six-pitch walk to junior Katie McEachern. Chaw moved McEachern to third with a single to right field before she scored on the next at bat by Damore.
Auburn threatened in the bottom of the frame, but Rumley got out of her first jam of the season with a pair of fielder choices and then a two-out grounder to Miller at third.
Madill hit a one-out double to right field and then advanced on a wild pitch. Jorgensen singled up to the pitcher, which allowed Madill to plate.
The Tigers tied the game in the bottom of the second with a two-run homer by Morgan Estell to left field. Rumley retired the side after surrendering the hit.
After an open third stanza, The Big Green retook the lead in the fourth with a pair of walks and then a single to left field by junior Kathy Dzienkowski to left field. With runners on first and second, Jorgensen battled back from a 1-2 count to force a nine-pitch walk to load the bases. Dartmouth added a run after an illegal pitch was issued to Auburn relief pitcher Lexi Davis that allowed Madill to score.
The designated visitors added their second run in the frame without a hit, as junior Katie McEachern was hit by a pitch that scored Dzienkowski. Davis got out of the inning with a strikeout.
Rumley breezed through the fifth and allowed one hit and a walk in the sixth. In the seventh, Tiffany Howard singled to second base and was then thrown out at second on a fielder’s choice by Emily Carosone. Auburn loaded the bases on back-to-back walks to Kasey Cooper and Branndi Melero.
Dartmouth got a break when Haley Fagan sent a grounder to McEachern at shortstop, who then fired home to get the lead runner out at the plate. Jade Rhodes finished the game with another grounder to McEachern who tossed it over to Damore to complete the upset.
