Dartmouth Baseball Uses Offense Then Pitching in Doubleheader Sweep of Vermont

April 19, 2005

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HANOVER, N.H. - Junior John Huelskamp (Fresno, Calif.) slugged a walk-off home run to help the Dartmouth baseball team edge Vermont, 12-10, in the first game of a doubleheader on Tuesday before blanking the Catamounts, 8-0, in the nightcap at Red Rolfe Field.

Huelskamp came up with the biggest hit by either team in game one, smacking a three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning. Huelskamp rocketed a 1-0 pitch into the trees in left field for his first collegiate home run.

Huelskamp's dinger capped a furious Dartmouth rally from a 9-4 deficit and helped snap the Big Green's five-game losing streak.

Vermont took a 2-0 lead in the first thanks to a pair of unearned runs, but Dartmouth sophomore Will Bashelor (Bozrah, Conn.) singled home sophomore Andrew Nacario (Carlsbad, Calif.) in the bottom of the inning to cut Vermont's lead in half. After consecutive errors loaded the bases, senior Josh Bailey (Lexington, Ky.) doubled into the right field corner to plate Bashelor, senior Jeff Speights (San Diego, Calif.) and freshman Damon Wright (Dallas, Texas) to make it 4-2.

Jason Carey gave the Catamounts the lead right back, smacking a grand slam off Leverone Field House in the second inning.

Down 6-4, Dartmouth had rallies killed in the second, third and fourth innings due to ground ball double plays. Carey doubled home another run in the fourth before Vermont extended its lead to 9-4 with two more runs in the fifth.

The Big Green came all the way back in the fifth. Freshman Jason Blydell (Nahant, Mass.) was hit by a pitch to begin the inning, and Bashelor doubled him home and stole third. Bashelor held as Speights reached on an infield error, and Wright singled to left to make it 9-6. Bailey followed with his second big extra-base hit of the day, sending a two-run double into left center off reliever Eric Thompson to make it 9-8, and after senior Marty Hebert's (Salisbury, Md.) infield single moved Bailey to third, senior Brian Zurhellen (Placentia, Calif.) hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game.

Vermont re-took the lead in the sixth with a single run, as Kyle Massie came in from third when a two-out grounder was midhandled.

The Big Green saw another rally defused due to a double play in the sixth, but senior Nick Peay (Murray, Utah) pitched a 1-2-3 seventh to keep Dartmouth within striking distance.

In the bottom of the final inning, Bailey walked with one down and reached third when Hebert hit a bounding ball that hopped once before skipping off of second base. The ball ricocheted into center field and away from second baseman Raymond Montanez, who was in position to turn a game-ending double play. After Zurhellen was retired and Hebert took second on the play, Huelskamp blasted his first hit since March 20 over the head of Carey in left field.

The win gave the Big Green 10 wins for the 13th consecutive season, and 22nd time in 23 seasons.

Bashelor stole two bases in the game to increase his season total to 25, moving him into a tie with John Orr '41 for the program's single-season record. Orr set his record in 1941, just eclipsing Michael O'Brien's total of 24 in 1906.

Bailey finished 2-for-3 with two runs while tying his career high of five RBIs. Bashelor, Blydell and Hebert also contributed a pair of hits while Peay picked up the victory in relief.

Vermont closer Chris Marsh, who hadn't allowed an earned run in 12 innings this season entering the seventh inning, was tagged with the loss.

After game one lasted 2:26, Dartmouth made quick work of Vermont in 1:27 during an 8-0 win in game two. Freshman Chase Carpenter (Bartlett, Tenn.) hurled the first six innings while senior Michael Madson (Colorado Springs, Colo.) finished off the eight-hit shutout with a scoreless seventh.

Carpenter kept the Catamounts off balance during his six innings on the hill, inducing 12 of his 18 outs via ground balls and striking the last two batters he faced. Vermont suffered a similar fate as Dartmouth did in game one, as the Catamounts saw rallies end due to double plays in the second and fourth.

Hebert sent a single into right with one down in the second to plate Speights with the eventual game-winning run, and Zurhellen scored on an error to make it 2-0.

The Big Green broke the game open in the third with five runs. The first five batters all reached base, including four on hits. Bashelor doubled home Nacario and Wright to make it 4-0 before Zurhellen launched a three-run homer into left to give Carpenter a 7-0 lead.

Wright added a solo home run in the fourth, his second of the season. The ball struck a van passing the field after clearing the fence.

Wright contributed two hits in the game while Zurhellen finished 2-for-2 with two runs and three RBIs. Zurhellen is now alone in seventh place in program history with 17 career home runs.

After losing two games to the Catamounts already this season, 1-0 and 13-10, Dartmouth came back to split the season series in the most games between the teams in a season since 1899. The Big Green avoided losing to Vermont three times in the same season for the first time since 1896. Dartmouth won twice on Tuesday after needing eight matchups at Red Rolfe Field to win its prior two home games against the Catamounts.

Dartmouth returns to action this weekend with a pair of Ivy League doubleheaders at Yale. The teams square off at 12 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Schedules