Dartmouth Wins Pitchers' Duel Against Holy Cross, 4-2

Wednesday, April 14

Hanover, N.H.

3:00 p.m.

Dartmouth College

13-12

Holy Cross

14-15

Holy Cross

Dartmouth

Dartmouth Wins Pitchers' Duel Against Holy Cross, 4-2

4/14/2010 5:00:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Dartmouth

Boxscore

HANOVER, N.H. — Sophomore right-hander Cole Sulser retired all 10 batters he faced, including the first batter with the tying run on third and two out in the fifth, while junior Brandon Parks delivered a clutch two-run single to help host Dartmouth defeat Holy Cross on Wednesday afternoon in a 4-2 triumph. The Big Green (13-12) boosted its record above .500 for the first time since March 23, while the Crusaders fell a game under .500 at 14-15.

Junior Jeff Onstott had two hits including a double, scoring after each, while sophomores Joe Sclafani and Jake Carlson joined him with a pair of safeties. Carlson also delivered the game-winning hit right after Parks' two-run single in the fifth. As a team, Dartmouth banged out 10 hits, double that of the Crusaders.

Both starting pitchers, freshman Michael Johnson for the Big Green and Tom Marra for the Crusaders, made quick work of the opposing lineups through the first three innings. Marra allowed three singles in that span, erasing one of the base runners on a double play grounder. Johnson, meanwhile, did not surrender a hit while allowing just two batters reach base on a walk and a hit batsmen. Neither runner advanced beyond first base.

In the fourth, Holy Cross got its first hit of the day when John Sills lined a pitch just over the center fielder's outstretched glove for a double leading off the inning. Johnson then balked him to third, and when Matt Perry hit a slow dribbler to the right side, Johnson neglected to cover first base which gave Perry an infield single to score Sills. Nick Ciardiello hit a sharp grounder between short and third for another single, and a wild pitch put runners at second and third with nobody out.

Johnson settled down at that point, getting Stephen Wadsworth to chop a ball to second base, which sent Perry across the plate for a 2-0 Crusader lead. Eric Oxford hit a two-hopper to a drawn-in Onstott at second for the second out, holding Ciardiello at third. Johnson then got the final out on a routine fly to right.

The Big Green responded in their half of the fourth with two out. While Sclafani led off the frame with a single, he was erased trying to steal second with one gone. But Onstott started a rally with a sinking liner to left that fell just in front of the fielder for a single. Freshman Ennis Coble laced a single to right that nearly smoked Onstott on his way to second, and fellow freshman Zack Bellenger beat out a slow roller to short to load the bases.

Parks stepped to the plate mired in a 2-for-20 slump, but worked the count to his favor at 3-1 before ripping a pitch back through the box to tie the game at two. The speedy Carlson then beat out a chopper to short, allowing Bellenger to score the go-ahead run.

In the fifth, Johnson retired the first two batters he faced before Jack Laurendeau hit a triple to dead center. Not taking any chances, head coach Bob Whalen called upon Sulser from the bullpen to face the right-handed Sills, who had doubled his last at-bat. Sulser got the job done, pumping a fastball on the outside corner for a called third strike to end the threat and preserve the one-run lead.

Sulser continued to mow through the Holy Cross lineup, retiring the side in order in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. The Dartmouth offense tacked on an insurance run against the Crusaders' top reliever, Ryan George, in the seventh inning when Onstott stroked a lead-off double to deep left, went to third on a fly to right and scored on a wild pitch on a third strike that would have ended the inning, only Parks was able to beat the throw to first.

Junior closer Ryan Smith came in to pitch the ninth for his third save of the year and Ivy League-record 21st of his career, giving up just a harmless one-out single.

Sulser (5-0) got the victory, tying him for the Ivy League lead, for his stellar 3.1 innings on the mound with four strikeouts.

Marra (0-1) took the loss in just his second career start, allowing three runs on nine hits while striking out a pair.

Dartmouth gets back into Ivy League play on Saturday when it hosts Yale in a doubleheader at noon to begin the four-game series. Holy Cross returns to Worcester, Mass., to host Lafayette for a four-game Patriot League series, beginning with a twinbill on Saturday at 3 p.m.