Opening Day for New Red Rolfe Field at Biondi Park

Grand Opening!
Today is the inaugural game at the refurbished Red Rolfe Field at Biondi Park. Renovations included a new synthetic FieldTurf surface, permanent seating for 650 spectators with the ability to add more than 1,000 temporary seats along the first- and third-base lines, dugouts, batting cages, bullpens, a new scoreboard, press box and landscaping. The renovations were made possible thanks a $5.2 million gift from the late Mike '79 and Cindy Ginn Biondi '80. Mike Biondi was a first baseman for the Big Green in the late '70s.

Last week in Review
Dartmouth ended an eight-game losing streak ? its longest to start a season in 27 years ? with a thrilling 7-4 triumph against San Jos? State, scoring six times in the ninth. Freshman Joe Sclafani bookended the Big Green's biggest inning of the year with singles, starting the uprising with a knock before capping the rally with a two-run safety. Junior Nick Santomauro tied the game with a two-run double, and senior Ray Allen drew a bases-loaded walk to push across the winning run.
The bats continued their assault the next night, but 12th-ranked Cal Poly methodically scored in every inning to defeat Dartmouth, 14-9. Sclafani had four RBIs, including a three-run double, while Allen led the team with three hits.

Harkening back to the win over San Jos? State, the Big Green started the Ivy slate with an amazing 14-8 win at Penn, scoring five runs in the seventh and final inning to tie the game, then six more in the eighth. Junior Jim Wren provided a dramatic three-run homer with two outs in the seventh to tie the score at eight.

Dartmouth completed the doubleheader sweep with a 9-6 win over the Quakers, then avenged its loss in the Ivy Championship last year by taking two at Columbia on Sunday. Freshman Kyle Hendricks spun a five-hit shutout in the opener as Allen blasted a pair of home runs. In the nightcap, the Big Green squeaked out a 6-5 victory with junior Brett Gardner belting a three-run shot and sophomore Ryan Smith tossing two scoreless innings for his third save of the week.

Santomauro had the biggest offensive weekend, going 11-for-16 (.688) with two doubles, three homers and six RBIs to earn Ivy League Player of the Week honors, while Hendricks was named the conference pitcher of the week.

The Overall Record vs. Siena
This is just the sixth meeting between these two schools on the baseball diamond with Dartmouth winning three of the first five. Last year the Saints scored six runs in the bottom of the eighth to steal a 10-8 victory in Loudonville. The first games were played in 2002, a doubleheader split at Red Rolfe Field with the Big Green taking the first game 15-2, then dropping the second 4-1.

Probable Starting Pitchers
?    Sophomore LHP Colin Britton (0-2, 9.00) is tentatively scheduled to climb the hill for the Green. Although he was knocked around a bit in his last start, he provided a quality start in his season debut, allowing just three runs in 6.1 innings at Santa Clara. Unfortunately the bats could not muster a single run, wasting his fine effort in a 3-0 loss
?    Siena will counter with RHP C.J. Sohl (0-3, 6.35), who is averaging less than three innings per start.

Scouting the Saints
?    After opening the season with a 5-1 win over Arkansas State, the losses piled up for Siena, dropping its next 13 contests. The Saints beat West Virginia, 9-6, to end the drought on March 14, then lost five more. They have since split their last four games, including a 5-4 win over Manhattan.
?    The 4-20 record is a bit deceiving with the competition Siena has faced, including Lamar, Michigan and West Virginia, not to mention two of the top three teams in the MAAC standings.
?    The team batting average is just .248, but freshman Dan Paolini has proven to be a fine hitter with a .412 average. Anthony Giansanti provides power with five homers, but is not the most disciplined hitter with just three walks in 99 at-bats. First baseman Kevin Quaranto is a tough out with his .446 on-base percentage and team-high eight doubles.
?    Siena sports a team ERA over nine (9.14) after a 17-3 loss to Manhattan on Sunday. Will Hassett has pitched well with nothing to show for his 3.21 ERA with an 0-1 record. Dan Lazzaroni has been effective out of the pen, sporting a 3.38 ERA and allowing just five hits in 10.2 innings. Kyle Sumple (0-4) gets the most work among the relievers with 20.2 innings and a 6.53 ERA.
?    The defense has struggled a bit this year with 46 errors in 24 games and a .945 fielding percentage.

What's Up Next
Dartmouth jumps back into Ivy play this weekend, hosting Princeton and Cornell for doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. The Tigers are 1-3 in the league with their lone victory coming over Yale, while the Big Red are 2-2 after splitting series with the Elis and Brown.

Schedules