Baseball Bested in Ninth on Walk-Off Homer

Friday, March 26

Daytona Beach, Fla.

6:00 p.m.

Dartmouth College

5-8

Bethune-Cookman

15-10

Dartmouth

Bethune-Cookman

3/26/2010 9:15:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Dartmouth

Boxscore

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Bethune-Cookman catcher Pete O'Brien hit three home runs against Dartmouth on Friday night, the third breaking a 3-3 tie in the ninth to give the host Wildcats a 4-3 walk-off win at Jackie Robinson Park. The victory is the 11th in the last 12 games for Bethune-Cookman (15-10), while the Big Green (5-8) suffered their fourth straight loss.

O'Brien hit the second pitch he saw from junior reliever Ryan Smith (0-1) to start the ninth, quickly putting an end to a tense ball game. The sophomore catcher also hit a two-run homer in the second and a solo blast in the fourth. His game-ending long ball was his 11th of the season.

The two O'Brien homers were about the only mistakes freshman left-hander Kyle Hunter made all night. In 7.1 innings, the rookie yielded three runs, just two earned, on seven hits and a walk to go along with four strikeouts, throwing just 82 pitches in the process. He also induced two double plays and picked a runner off first base to help himself.

Bethune-Cookman starter Patrick Goelz was just as effective, surrendering three runs, two earned, on just three hits and two walks while fanning five. Three relievers combined to throw 2.2 scoreless innings, with Joseph Munoz (1-2) getting credit for the win. But those final frames did not come without scoring opportunities for Dartmouth.

With the score tied in the eighth, the Big Green put runners on the corners with nobody out on a two-base error and a single. But when freshman Ennis Coble hit a comebacker to the mound, reliever Justin Dahl was able to gun down the runner at third. Two more ground ball outs squelched that potential rally.

Then in the ninth, freshmen Zack Bellenger and Chris O'Dowd walked with one out, putting the go-ahead run in scoring position. Munoz was then summoned from the bullpen and promptly walked sophomore David Turnbull to load the bases. Dartmouth sent junior Jason Brooks to the plate as a pinch hitter, but his hard grounder to short was turned into an inning-ending double play.

Dartmouth took an early lead to start the game when sophomore Joe Sclafani belted a 3-1 pitch out of the park to right-center in the first inning for his first home run of the young season.

One inning later, O'Brien gave the Wildcats the lead with his first home run of the night, clearing the fence in right field, after Jeremy Davis had reached on an error. O'Brien's next trip to the plate he stroked a 1-0 pitch out to left for a 3-1 lead.

The score remained at 3-1 until the seventh when the Big Green tied the game on an RBI triple off the bat of junior Jeff Onstott and an O'Dowd sacrifice fly.

The three-game series between Dartmouth and Bethune-Cookman concludes tomorrow at noon.