FALL RIVER, MA – Down to its last out and trailing by two, the Dartmouth softball team battled back to pull off a 10-8 victory over host Durfee in Southeast Conference action at the Kuss Middle School field. With the win, The Indians improve to 4-5 on the year and 1-1 in the SEC. Durfee falls to 1-7 overall and 0-3 in conference play.

Pitcher Megan Arruda earned the win for Dartmouth. She pitched the first three innings and re-entered to throw the final two. She allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits, while striking five and walking three. Broke Silvia went the distance for Durfee.

The Indians collected 15 hits in the game, led by Kalisa Pomfret, who went 5-for-5 on the day, scoring twice. Lily Gioiosa had three hits and three runs scored for Dartmouth, while Kathryn Lancaster and Sofia Dias had two each.

Katerina Rumsey, Sadie Fitzgerald and Niyah Boone all had two hits for the Hilltoppers. Fitzgerald’s last hit was a clutch, two-out, two-run blast that put Durfee on up 8-6 in the bottom of the sixth inning. Rachael Silva reached base in three of four at-bats, stole a base and scored three times.

Dartmouth, playing aggressively on the base paths, managed to plate single runs in each of the first three innings to grab a 3-1 lead. Durfee struggled with men on base early but managed to score once in the bottom the fourth to pull within a run.

Dartmouth then hit the ball hard in the fifth, scoring three runs to push its lead to 6-2. Pomfret, Gioiosa and Desirae Paiva all had hits in the frame. Durfee finally ended its futility with runners on base to tie the game with four runs in the bottom of the inning. Rumsey led off with a triple down the left field line. Silva walked and stole second. Mia Jacob then walked to load the bases. A sacrifice fly brought in a run and Brooke Macedo’s double scored two more. Macedo later scored on a fielder’s choice to even the score at six.

The bottom of the sixth started promisingly for Durfee as Rumsey and Silva both reached. A brilliant foul ball catch by Gioiosa who then threw for a double play appeared to thwart the threat. However, Fitzgerald then launched her two-run blast, scoring Silva ahead of her.

While Durfee, losers of six straight going in, had dreams of victory, Dartmouth had other ideas. Durfee got the leadoff batter but the Indians managed to load the bases with two outs. A pair of shots to the gap in right center brought all those runners in and Dartmouth added one more to go up by two. Arruda closed the door in the bottom of the inning for the win.