Box Score
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Junior Elise Menaker's opposite field three-run homer in the bottom of the fifth inning broke a 1-1 deadlock and lifted the Cornell softball team to a 6-1 win over Dartmouth in the deciding game of the best-of-three Ivy League Playoff on Sunday afternoon at Niemand*Robison Field. With the victory, the Big Red secured its fourth conference title in school history and earned its fourth NCAA tournament bid while matching the school record for wins in a season in improving to 42-11.
The victory gave Cornell its first-ever Ivy League playoff win since the conference went to the two division format in 2007. The 42 victories matches the record set in 2004 when the Big Red went 42-13 and became the last Ivy school to win a game at the NCAA tournament, knocking off nationally ranked Long Beach State for head coach Dick Blood's 300th victory. This victory moved that total to 417 triumphs
Senior Meg Risica and sophomore Ali Tomlinson hit home runs in the sixth to put the game away and make a winner of sophomore Elizabeth Dalrymple. The sophomore hurler scattered seven hits while stirking out five in the complete game win, improving to 19-3 with the victory. Her only mistake of the game was a home run surrendered to Alyssa Parker in the top of the fourth to give the visitors a short-lived lead. The Big Red answered with a run in the bottom of the inning to knot the score on an RBI single by senior Jessy Berkey.
Risica and junior Alyson Intihar each had a pair of hits, with Risica reaching base in all three of her plate appearances and scoring twice.
Devin Lindsay stymied Cornell for the first three innings before its powerful offense was able to break through against the Big Green (23-23). Lindsay allowed just one hit over the first three innings, but after the visitors broke through on Parker's roundtripper, Cornell pieced together a run of its own with some two-out magic. Risica ripped a shot that caught chalk down the leftfield line for a stand-up double, which was followed by a Berkey rope through the right side that Dartmouth second baseman Kirsten Costello couldn't stab leading to the tying run.
After Dalrymple, who worked hard over the first three innings, had an easy fifth without allowing the ball to leave the infield, Cornell broke through. A one-out walk to Devon March and an infield single by Intihar set up Menaker to be the hero with two outs. She took a 3-2 offering from Lindsay and drove it to right, clearing the fence by an additional 20 feet as the no-doubt shot put Cornell up 4-1. The Big Red tacked on insurance in the sixth with blasts by Risica and Tomlinson to seal the win.
Dartmouth threatened in the seventh, loading the bases after the Big Red had retired the first two batters, but Dalrymple got Nikki Yee to ground into a fielder's choice to end the game and start the Cornell celebration.
The Big Red will find out their NCAA tournament regional site on Sunday, May 10 at 10 p.m. when the tournament field is announced on ESPNU. Cornell will compete at one of 16 regional sites starting on May 15. The winners at the 16 regional sites will then compete in the Super Regionals beginning May 22 as the field is whittled down to the eight Women's College World Series participants. The WCWS begins on Thursday, May 28 at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Okla.