HANOVER, N.H. -- Cornell nearly pulled off the greatest upset in school history, but instead Dartmouth celebrated after one of its own as the Big Green walked off with a 9-8 victory over the Big Red on Friday afternoon at the Dartmouth Softball Field. Game two was postponed until Sunday due to rain.
Dartmouth brought a 7-0 lead into the sixth inning, but Cornell rallied for eight runs, headlined by
Olivia Lam's game-tying grand slam. After entering the inning with just one hit, the Big Red had seven during the rally. The Big Red quietly got out of a jam in the sixth, but the seventh saw the home team used a triple and a fielder's choice to tie the game before Alyssa Jorgensen ended the wild affair with a single to center to score the game-winning run with one out in the seventh.
Megan Murray was 2-for-3 with two doubles, a run scored and an RBI, while
Jessica Bigbie was also credited with two hits. Lam's second home run of the season was her first grand slam, while Bridgette Rooney (hit, walk) and
Madeline Avery (two walks) both reached base twice in the game.
Dartmouth scored three in the first, two more in the second and two in the fourth to take a big lead into the fifth. Cornell was able to shut the home team down over the next two innings, setting up what was nearly a historic rally before the Big Green came back on its own.
Cornell's comeback started innocently enough, as Sarah Murray singled to shortstop, followed by a
Megan Murray double to put runners on second and third. Bridgette Rooney singled to center to get Cornell on the board, and consecutive walks made it 7-2. Dartmouth went back to starter Ethridge, who immediately surrendered a run-scoring single to Erin Rockstroh and the grand slam to Lam, whose blast to centerfield tied the game at 7-7. One batter later, Bigbie singled, followed one batter later by
Megan Murray, who doubled for the second time in the inning. This time, her hit put Cornell ahead, if only for an inning.
The Big Red will travel to Harvard for a 12:30 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday, then return to Hanover for a Sunday first pitch of 12:30 p.m.
