Win Streak Extended to 10 with 10-4 Triumph

Wednesday, April 8

Hanover, N.H.

3:30 PM

Dartmouth College

11-9

Saint Anselm

10-15

Saint Anselm

Dartmouth

4/8/2009 6:30:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Dartmouth

Boxscore

HANOVER, N.H. ? Dartmouth shortstop Joe Sclafani, fresh off being named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week, tied a Big Green record by hitting two triples in today's 10-4 victory over Saint Anselm this afternoon at Red Rolfe Field at Biondi Park. Sclafani also had a single and a double from the leadoff slot for the first four-hit game by a Big Green player this year, plus drove in four runs to lead Dartmouth (11-9) to its 10th straight win. The Division II Hawks dropped to 10-15 on the season.

The win streak is the longest for the Big Green since rattling off 12 straight nine years ago when they won their first Rolfe Division title in the Ivy League. Dartmouth racked up 16 hits in the contest as senior Johnathon Santopadre (Vacaville, Calif.) complemented Sclafani with a perfect day at the plate at 3-for-3 with a pair of walks.

Dartmouth head coach Bob Whalen gave the rest of his regular starting lineup the day off, and the reserves came through with nine hits, including two apiece from senior Kyle Evans (Springfield, Mo.), sophomore Brandon Parks (Mission Viejo, Calif.) and freshman Jake Carlson (Woodlands, Texas).

Saint Anselm scored first, however, in the second inning when Benjamin Waldrip led off with a single and went to third on an Alex Aguilar double just inside the left-field line. After Big Green hurler Colin Britton (Poughquag, N.Y.) got a foul pop to first, Eric Baca hit a soft liner just out of the reach of Sclafani to drive in a run. But Britton was able to escape the inning without further damage when he got a called third strike and a fly to right.

Meanwhile, Hawk starter Mike Fantini worked his way through two innings without allowing a run before Dartmouth roughed up reliever Kyle Lavin (0-4) for four runs in the third. Sclafani began the frame with a ringing double into the left-field corner and went to third on a bunt single by Santopadre. Evans tied the game with a single through the hole at short, and a walk to sophomore Jason Brooks (Westlake Village, Calif.) loaded the bases. The Big Green took the lead when freshman David Turnbull (St. Louis, Mo.) hit into a forceout at second. Two more runs scored on a double off the bat of Carlson.

Sclafani ripped a two-run triple after Parks and sophomore Sam Bean (Needham, Mass.) singled in the fourth. Three batters later Brooks hit into a fielder's choice that allowed Sclafani to cross the plate and make it a 7-1 game.

In the fifth, Sclafani once again smacked a two-run triple, scoring junior Ezra Josephson (Key West, Fla.) and Bean.

Britton tired in the sixth as he hit Waldrip with a pitch with one out and Aguilar hit his second double to score Waldrip. Another hit batter and a walk loaded the bases, which prompted the call to freshman Max Langford (Fairfax, Va.) in the bullpen. Langford got the double-play grounder he needed, and Sclafani and Josephson turned it with a nice stretch by Brooks at first to get out of the jam.

Josephson brought home the final Big Green run of the day with a two-out single to center, scoring Turnbull who had singled with one out and stolen second right before Josephson's hit.

Saint Anselm got its final two runs in the eighth on back-to-back triples by Waldrip and Aguilar, followed by a grounder to third by James Garrigan.

Britton (1-2) picked up his first win of the season with a solid 5.1 innings on the mound. He surrendered just two runs on six hits, two walks and two hit batters while striking out two as well.

Aguilar was the hitting star for the Hawks, going a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with two doubles and a triple, while Waldrip was 2-for-3 and scored three of Saint Anselm's four runs.

Dartmouth has a big Ivy showdown with Brown this weekend at Red Rolfe Field at Biondi Park. The Big Green at 8-0 lead the Rolfe Division by a single game over the Bears (7-1). The two schools will play noon doubleheaders on both Saturday and Sunday. Saint Anselm, meanwhile, has a Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader tomorrow at Merrimack at noon, although the Hawks will be the home team.