Dartmouth Notches Spot in Tourney

By Aaron Fitt
Baseball America

Strike One: Green Day
The first ticket to the 2009 NCAA tournament was punched over the weekend when Dartmouth topped Cornell in the best-of-three Ivy League championship series. The Big Green won two out of three against the Big Red to reach regionals for the first time since 1987.

It was a measure of redemption for Dartmouth, which went 15-5 in the Ivy in 2008 and hosted the conference championship series, which it lost in wild fashion to Columbia. Big Green coach Bob Whalen said he could sense his team's hunger down the stretch as it honed in on that elusive regional berth.

"If you've coached long enough like I have, every team is different, has a different personality," said Whalen, who's in his 20th season. "There's a certain maturity level about this group, not just because of last year. We've been to the Ivy championship five times since 2000. In the last 10 years, we've won more Ivy games than any school in either division. But at the same time, you're in this to win championships, not just to collect wins."

Full Story on ESPN College Sports