Rolfe Division Showdown This Weekend

Rolfe Division Lead on the Line
This weekend is a Rolfe Division showdown between the two teams with the best records in the Ivy League. Dartmouth is just the second Ivy team to sweep the other division since the start of divisional play in 1993, joining the 1993 Yale Bulldogs. And the Big Green bring a 10-game winning streak, its longest in nine years, into the series. Brown, meanwhile, is a game back at 7-1 having swept both Penn and Columbia last weekend. The last win came on a two-out, walk-off home run to turn a one-run deficit into a 12-11 victory against the Lions

Last week in Review
The Big Green played a single contest during the week, a 10-4 victory over Division II Saint Anselm on Wednesday. Seven of the nine regulars got the day off, and the reserves came up big with nine hits. But the two starters in the lineup, shortstop Joe Sclafani and third baseman Johnathon Santopadre, combined to go 7-for-8 with two walks. Sclafani tied a school record with two triples in the game and became the first Dartmouth player to collect four hits in a game this season, plus drove in four runs. Santopadre was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate.

Probable Starting Pitchers
?    Dartmouth is expected to not change a thing in the rotation, as junior LHP Robert Young (2-2, 5.88) is coming off a dominating 4-1 win over Princeton in which he pitched all seven innings and struck out seven. The team leader in victories, junior RHP Ben Murray (3-1, 4.66) will get the ball in game two on Saturday. He struck out a career-high six batters against the Tigers last weekend.
?    On Sunday, a pair of rookies will climb the hill for the Big Green. First, RHP Kyle Hendricks (2-2, 4.65) will try to improve upon his first start at home, in which he battled well enough to beat Cornell. In the finale, RHP Cole Sulser (2-1, 8.72) brings a strikeout ratio of better than one per inning to the mound. His last start was his best so far, striking out eight in seven innings while allowing just three runs to the Big Red.
?    Brown will counter with RHP Conor Burke (2-0, 7.87) in game one. He pitched 6.1 innings against Columbia last weekend and allowed six earned runs. Game two will be handled by LHP Mark Gormley (3-1, 6.75), who likes to pitch inside as evidenced by his 10 hit batters this season ? he has only walked seven in contrast. Sunday is still a mystery, but look for junior RHP Will Weidig (0-5, 11.57) to go in game one. He was roughed up to the tune of six runs in 2.2 innings while walking four last weekend, however. His ERA is way out of line with his career (4.96 entering this year). RHP Josh Feit (1-2, 8.88) will likely go in game two. He pitches to contact having allowed 45 hits but just seven walks in 25.1 innings while striking out just 10.

The Overall Record vs. Brown
Since the first game played between the two schools in 1871, which Brown won 41-17, Dartmouth has the upper hand with a record of 118-101-1 against the Bears. That lone tie, by the way, occurred 103 years ago. The longest winning streak by either team in the series is a 10-gamer for the Big Green from 1961-70 when the schools played just once a year. Oh, and don't worry about those 41 Bear runs in the first-ever game ? 10 years later Dartmouth put up 31 runs against Brown, then topped that in 1889 with 35.

Scouting the Bears
?    Brown is the one team in the league that has matched Dartmouth's offensive firepower, scoring 76 runs in eight league games compared to 75 for the Big Green.
?    Three players in the Bear lineup have hit five homers in Ivy play ? center fielder Steve Daniels (also batting an even .500), Pete Greskoff and Robert Papenhause, who is hitting .480 and leads the team with 15 RBIs.
?    Shortstop Matt Nuzzo is another top hitter for Brown, batting .485 with five doubles and a pair of homers. Dan Shapiro is also over four bills at .429.
?    Brown has had to outslug its opponents, however, with a team ERA of 7.00 in league play. Aside from the pitchers mentioned previously, Matthew Kimball has proven himself as a reliable closer with three saves in four Ivy appearances, not to mention 13 strikeouts in just seven innings.
?    The defense has been solid with a .960 fielding percentage, nearly the same as Dartmouth's .962. But shortstop has been an issue with Nuzzo and Graham Tyler combining for eight of the team's 11 errors.

What's Up Next
The Big Green have a pair of mid-week games on the schedule next week. The conclusion of this 11-game homestand will take place on Tuesday when Vermont, in its final season of baseball, comes to town for a game at 3:30 p.m. The following day, Dartmouth travels to Worcester, Mass., to take on Holy Cross at 4 p.m. Next weekend will feature a four-game series at Yale.

Schedules

Players Mentioned

Ben Murray

Johnathon Santopadre

Robert Young

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Schedules

Completed Event: Baseball versus Cornell on April 27, 2025 , Win , 7, to, 4

Completed Event: Baseball at Merrimack College on April 30, 2025 , Loss , 5, to, 6

Cancelled Event: Baseball versus Stonehill

Completed Event: Baseball versus Yale on May 10, 2025 , Loss , 4, to, 18

Completed Event: Baseball versus Yale on May 11, 2025 , Loss , 0, to, 19

Completed Event: Baseball versus Yale on May 11, 2025 , Loss , 1, to, 10