Carlson Delivers Walk-Off Hit in 11th Against Penn

Sunday, April 11

Hanover, N.H.

12:00 p.m.

Dartmouth College

11-12, 3-4

Penn

13-13, 4-3

Penn

Dartmouth

Carlson Delivers Walk-Off Hit in 11th Against Penn

4/11/2010 6:00:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Dartmouth

Game One Box | Game Two Box

HANOVER, N.H. — Sophomore Jake Carlson lined a shot over the center fielder's head in the 11th inning, driving in the winning run from second base to give Dartmouth (12-12, 4-4 Ivy) a 3-2 victory in the second game of a doubleheader against Penn at Red Rolfe Field at Biondi Park on Sunday afternoon. The Quakers (13-14, 4-4 Ivy) won the first game, 9-5, on the strength of a pair of home runs and 13 hits.

The two teams were deadlocked at two when Penn called upon right-hander Trey Jennings to pitch the 11th inning. He immediately walked Big Green lead-off hitter Sam Bean on four pitches, and freshman Chris O'Dowd moved Bean along with a sacrifice bunt. After getting the second out on a foul fly to left, the Quakers decided to intentionally walk clean-up hitter Jeff Onstott to get a more favorable right-on-right match-up with Carlson. The strategy backfired when Carlson, who had entered the game as a pinch runner in the 10th inning, ripped the first pitch he saw in the game for the game-winning hit.

This was the third walk-off win of the season for Dartmouth, its most since the 2002 season when the Big Green won four such contests.

"I figured they would come right at me after walking Jeff," Carlson said after the game. "I got a first-pitch fastball that was up and in, and I just brought my hands in on the swing and got the barrel on the ball."

Dartmouth had fallen behind, 2-0, in the fourth inning of the contest when freshman pitcher Kyle Hunter made his only mistake of the afternoon as Mike Mariano lifted a pitch over the fence in left-center for a two-run shot. It was his third four-bagger of the season and second of the day.

The Big Green got one of those runs back in the fifth. Bean was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame, and O'Dowd doubled past a diving first baseman to send Bean to third. Sophomore Joe Sclafani then lofted a sacrifice fly to left to make it a 2-1 game.

Penn pitcher Todd Roth was continually in trouble throughout the game, allowing at least one Dartmouth player to move into scoring position every inning he pitched except the first. But he was able to wriggle his way out of almost every predicament. In the seventh, he was finally knocked from the box when the Green loaded the bases on an O'Dowd double and a pair of walks with one gone. Reid Terry strode to the mound and got the second out on a called strike three. But the shortstop could not handle a one-hopper off the bat of freshman Ennis Coble for an error, allowing the tying run to score.

Terry did not allow anything more in his four innings of work other than a single and a hit batter, striking out four during his stint. Left fielder Jeremy Maas helped Terry out with the defensive play of the day, catching a foul fly as he flipped head-over heels over a fence.

Junior Ryan Smith (1-1) matched Terry out for out, relieving Hunter after a lead-off single in the eighth inning, as he equaled his career high of four innings. The closest call for Smith came in the 10th when Emilio Pastor singled with one out — his third hit of the game — and then stole second one out later. Dan Williams grounded to short, but it was booted for an error. Pastor rounded third and though about trying to score the go-ahead run, but the second baseman Onstott retrieved the ball and threw home. Dartmouth executed a run-down to perfection for the third out, preserving the tie score.

Hunter tossed seven innings in his start, allowing the two runs on seven hits without walking a batter and striking out five.

In the first game, Penn jumped out to a 3-0 lead on an RBI single by Mariano and a sacrifice fly by Will Gordon in the first, then a solo home run in the second by Will Davis, his seventh of the year.

Junior Jason Brooks got two of those runs back in the third with a two-out, two-run double to straight-away center, scoring senior Jim Wren and freshman Zack Bellenger, both of whom had singled. Wren then gave Dartmouth a 4-3 lead in the third with his first long ball of the year, a two-run shot to right-center.

The lead proved to be short-lived, however, as the Quakers came right back in the fourth. Gordon doubled and went to third on a single by Derek Vigoa, who then stole second. Davis hit a grounder to first, and the throw home in an attempt to cut off the run was late. Steve Gable then dropped down a squeeze bunt giving Penn a 5-4 edge.

Mariano belted a two-run bomb in the fifth, and Gable lined a two-run single as well to make it a 9-4 game. Dartmouth's final run came in the sixth on a David Turnbull sacrifice fly, scoring Wren who had doubled.

Vince Voiro (2-1) pitched all seven innings for the victory, surrendering five runs on seven hits and a pair of walks with six strikeouts.

Sophomore Kyle Hendricks (1-4) took the loss despite striking out eight in his five frames. Wren was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate for the Big Green, scoring three runs and driving in two.

Dartmouth continues its 12-game homestand on Wednesday when it hosts Holy Cross at 3 p.m. Penn returns home to play La Salle on the same day and time.