Dartmouth Baseball Outlasts Navy in Extra Innings to Take Series Finale

Sunday, March 2

Annapolis, Md.

11:30 AM

Dartmouth College

2-1

Navy

3-3

Dartmouth

Navy

Damon Wright Earns Ivy League Player of the Week Honors

Dartmouth Baseball Outlasts Navy in Extra Innings to Take Series Finale

3/2/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Dartmouth

Box Score

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Senior captain Damon Wright (Dallas, Texas) went 3-for-4 with three stolen bases and drove in the winning run in the bottom of the 10th to lead the Dartmouth baseball team past Navy, 4-3, in the final game of the three-game series.

In addition to Wright, sophomore Brett Gardner (Bellevue, Wash.) also collected three hits in four at-bats and drove in a run, while senior pitcher Kyle Zeis (Solana Beach, Calif.) shut the door in the final 3.2 innings to earn his first win of the season. Zeis made his presence felt, fanning a career-high eight batters of the 16 he faced.

Sophomore Robert Young (Cleburne, Texas) made his first start in 2008 and went five innings, giving up three runs on 12 hits. Young did not allow a run to cross the plate in his first four innings.

Dartmouth (2-1, 0-0 Ivy) went on top 1-0 in the second inning on a groundout to the shortstop. Wright led off with a single to left field and took two bases on a fielder's choice and a throwing error. Senior Ray Allen (Longwood, Fla.) put the ball in play and pushed Wright to the plate with a groundout to the shortstop.

The Big Green added another run on an RBI double from sophomore Brett Gardner (Bellevue, Wash.). Freshman Jason Brooks (Westlake Village, Calif.), who homered yesterday for his first collegiate hit, led off with a single. He then advanced to second on a single by junior Jack Monahan (Overland Park, Kan.) and was driven in by Gardner for the 2-0 lead after the top of the fifth.

The Midshipmen (3-3, 0-0 Patriot League) broke through in the bottom of the inning, with three-straight singles, including a bunt single from Kendall Bolt, to load the bases. Navy's Thomas Hamilton then stepped to the plate and found a gap through the left side for a two-run single to tie the game at 2-2. Jeff Bland followed Hamilton with an RBI single, that scored Bolt, to give the Midshipmen its first lead at 3-2. Young got out of any further trouble with a strikeout, a popout and a groundout, to retire the side.

Freshman Jake Pruner (Triangle, Va.) made his first appearance in a Big Green uniform as he relieved Young in the sixth,. Pruner was welcomed with a double down the left field, but he buckled down and got three consecutive outs, inlcuding his first collegiate strikeout, to strand a base runner at third.

Dartmouth tied the game at 3-3 in the top of the seventh, thanks to a failed pickoff attempt by Navy. Allen connected for a single through the left side, advanced to second on a groundout and third on a single from Gardner. Navy pitcher Jonathan Berkowitz then tried to pick off Gardner and her threw it wide, which allowed Allen to scored the game-tying run. Berkowitz was then relieved by Kevin Heasley, who retired the final two Dartmouth hitters.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Midshipmen loaded the bases again with two walks and an error by the Big Green. Zeis relieved Pruner and struckout the final two batters on eight pitches to shutdown the Navy rally.

The Midshipmen got the lead runner on in the eighth and tried a sacrifice bunt, but third baseman Johnathon Santopadre (Vacaville, Calif.) charged the ball and started the 5-4-3 double play with senior Erik Bell (Sierra Madre, Calif.) and Allen to erase the Navy threat. The Midshipmen loaded the bases for the third time in the ninth inning, but Zeis got out of the jam, by striking out his sixth batter in three innings of work.

Bell got things started for the Big Green in the top of the 10th with a lead off double to left field. After a flyout to left field, Wright cracked an RBI single to left field, which Bell rounded third and scored to give the Big Green a 4-3 lead. Wright advanced to second on a throwing error by the leftfielder and stole third, but was thrown out at home on a fielder's choice groundout. With first and third, Allen popped up to end the inning.

Navy had its chance in the bottom of the inning as the Midshipmen put two runners on with two outs, but Zeis shut the door again with one of two his two strikeouts in the inning and eighth of the game to give Dartmouth the 4-3 win.

Dartmouth will be back in action in a couple of weeks as the Big Green head south for its annual Spring Trip to Bradenton, Fla., beginning on March 15, against Saint Louis.