Baseball Falls To Hartford, 8-5

Tuesday, May 1

Hanover, N.H.

3:00 PM

Dartmouth College

8-28-1

Hartford

10-27

Hartford

Dartmouth

5/1/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Dartmouth

Boxscore

HANOVER, N.H. – Three different Dartmouth players blasted home runs in the team's final home game of the year, but the Hawks of Hartford came out on top by the final score of 8-5.

The Hawks lead-off batter, Brady Stouffer, doubled to deep left field putting the games first hitter in scoring position. Greg Cinelli followed up with a fly out to right field, but moved Stouffer onto third. Ben Sobocinski took advantage of the runner on third, as he hit a sacrifice fly to center field, giving Hartford the early, 1-0, lead.

Dartmouth fought right back in their first plate appearances as back-to-back hits by Erik Bell (Sierra Madre, Calif.) and James Wren (Granbury, Texas) gave the home team the advantage with no outs. Damon Wright (Dallas, Texas) belted a sacrifice fly into centerfield that scored Bell and evened the score at one apiece.

In the bottom of the second inning, the Big Green put another mark on the board. Jason McManis (Flower Mound, Texas) scored Brett Gardner (Bellevue, Wash.) who led off the inning with a single. The RBI is McManis' tenth of the season, as he give Dartmouth the 2-1 lead.

The Hawks began getting to Dartmouth starter Ben Murray (Grants Pass, Ore.) as an error, followed by back-to-back hits sent two runners home, giving the lead back to Hartford, 3-2.

Murray allowed the first two batters to reach base, as he hit the first and then gave up a walk. Those runners would end up costing the Big Green, as a one-out single by Sobocinski scored both. Stouffer, who also reached base in the inning on an error, would end up scoring to extend the Hawks lead 6-2.

Head coach Bob Whalen would relieve Murray after those runs, and give senior Bobby Steinsdoerfer (Crystal Lake, Ill.) the chance to throw. Steinsdoerfer got Dartmouth out of the inning striking out the final batter.

Bell led off the bottom of the fifth taking new pitcher Bryan Bloch deep to left field for his first career home run. The Hawks set down the next three Dartmouth batters, keeping their lead with a 6-3 advantage.

To start the seventh inning, Zach Cheaney (Houston, Texas) came in to pitch for the Big Green. The freshman retired the first batter, but then walked and gave up a hit to the Hawks. Whalen took no chances and brought in Kyle Zeis (Solana Beach, Calif.) to try and eliminate the jam.

Zeis got Hartfords Bill Perry to ground into a possible double play situation, but the Big Green defense couldn't quite get the turn, as Cinelli wound up scoring on the failed attempt, making it a 7-3 game.

Wren, who opened the bottom of the eighth for the Big Green, took the second pitch he saw over right field wall for his second home run of the season, making it a three-run game, 7-4.

The Hawks got one more in the ninth after Sobocinski hit an RBI-single to left field making it an 8-4 ballgame with Dartmouth's final at bats coming up.

Coming in as a pinch hitter, Michael Pagliarulo (Winchester, Mass.) belted a solo shot over the right field wall for his first shot of the season. But Pagliarulo's run would be the only tally, as Dartmouth dropped its final home game of the season, 8-5.

The Big Green will round out their 2007 campaign tomorrow when they travel to Boston College for another non-league contest against the Eagles. That game will begin at 3:00 p.m.