Dartmouth Begins Rolfe Division Play Versus Yale on Sunday

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Rolfe Division Games Begin
The final three weekends of Ivy play — and the three Ivy series against divisional opponents — start on Saturday with the beginning of a four-game set against the visiting Yale Bulldogs. Yale already has more victories on the season that it did last year (13 in 2009), but the Big Green have proven to be tough at home once again this year, winning five of their first seven games at Red Rolfe Field at Biondi Park. That gives Dartmouth a 20-5 mark at the venue since the re-opening of the park after the renovations last year.

The Big Green begin the weekend two games behind Brown in the Rolfe Division standings, while Yale is three back. Dartmouth will have to get over its aversion to seven-inning games to come away with a series victory; the Big Green are 0-6 in such games this year, but 13-6 when a nine-inning contest is scheduled.

Last Week in Review
Dartmouth split a pair of Ivy doubleheaders last weekend with Columbia and Penn, losing the first game both days before rebounding in each nightcap for a victory. The Lions took the first game, 5-2, holding the Big Green offense to just six hits. The second game belonged to Dartmouth, 9-4, thanks in large part to the first career grand slam for junior Jeff Onstott. In a 9-5 loss to Penn, senior Jim Wren and junior Jason Brooks provided most of the offense with the former going a perfect 3-for-3 with a two-run homer, and the latter clubbing a two-run double. The Big Green rallied in game two, scoring a run in the fifth and seventh innings after falling behind 2-0. Sophomore Jake Carlson provided the winning hit in the 11th, making a winner out of junior Ryan Smith, who threw four scoreless innings in relief of effective starter Kyle Hunter. On Wednesday, freshman Michael Johnson, sophomore Cole Sulser and Smith combined on a five-hitter against Holy Cross as the Green defeated the Crusaders, 4-2.

The Overall Record vs. Yale
•    The two teams will finish the weekend by squaring off for the 200th time. They have met 196 times on the diamond with the Bulldogs having a decided advantage at 115-80-1.
•    Last year the Big Green won three of four from Yale in New Haven, scoring at least 12 runs in each of the three victories. Dartmouth hit .340 for the series with six homers.
•    Dartmouth head coach Bob Whalen has won as many as he has lost in 74 games against Yale in his first 20 years (37-37).
•    Since the field was dedicated in honor of Red Rolfe before the 1970 season, the Big Green is 27-24 on the site versus the Bulldogs.
•    The first game in the series took place 129 years ago when the Big Green defeated Yale, 6-3.

Probable Starting Pitchers
• Attempting to end a personal three-game losing streak in the first game will be senior LHP Robert Young (1-3, 4.91). He has gone the distance in each of his first two Ivy starts, but took the loss in 2-0 and 5-2 defeats. Senior RHP Ben Murray (2-3, 9.85), an Ivy good-luck charm for the Big Green, gets the ball for game two. Murray is 5-0 with a scintillating 3.52 ERA for his career in conference games and has won each of his first two starts this year. On Sunday, sophomore RHP Kyle Hendricks (1-4, 5.90) is looking to rebound from a three-game skid of his own. While his strikeouts are up (leads the conference with 38), he struggled against Penn last week, giving up nine runs in five innings. Finally, freshman LHP Kyle Hunter (1-0, 3.30) takes the hill for the series finale. He has not allowed more than two earned runs in any of his four starts this season, yet has not gotten a decision in his last three starts.
• Yale has a trio of left-handers slated to start for the weekend, but begin with sophomore RHP Pat Ludwig (3-3, 3.52), who sports a terrific 5:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio with 35 whiffs in 38.1 innings. Game two will feature junior LHP Vinny Lally (5-1, 4.75) — last year he did not escape the second inning against the Big Green, surrendering seven runs. Junior rookie LHP Brook Hart (2-2, 4.72) will be familiar to football fans as the Bulldogs' quarterback the past couple of years. He is foregoing football this spring, however, and has struck out 29 while walking just eight in 34.1 frames during his first season with the baseball team. The final game will feature a match-up of freshman southpaws with LHP Christopher O'Hare (1-0, 5.76) toeing the slab for Yale. Since a strong start, the rookie has not made it past the fourth innings in any of his last three starts.

Scouting Report on the Bulldogs
•    Yale has played very well in non-conference games, but the offense has slowed a bit against Ivy teams with less than 4.5 runs in the eight league games.
•    The Bulldogs have a four-game winning streak to their credit this year as well as a four-game slide.
•    As a team Yale is hitting .310 on the season, but just .253 in conference play.
•    Gant Elmore has been a pest at the top of the lineup, hitting .405 with a .478 on-base average. Trygg Larsson-Danforth provides plenty of power with a .385 average and eight home runs for a .725 slugging percentage.
•    The Bulldogs have hit 30 home runs and given up just 18. But in the league? They've hit three and served up 10 long balls.
•    The staff ERA of 5.45 is three-quarters of a run higher against Ivy bats at 6.21.
•    Vinny Lally has been the most effective starter in his two Ivy outings with a 3.95 ERA. But that is a little misleading as he has had 28 base runners in 13.2 innings.
•    Robert Gruber has been the top reliever for the Bulldogs all season with a 3.00 ERA in 14 games.
•    Head Coach John Stuper (LaRoche '80) is in his 18th season at Yale with a 351-375-2 record, and in 22-plus seasons as a head coach is an even 443-443-2. He pitched in the big leagues with the Cardinals and Reds, posting a 32-28 record in four seasons, plus tossed a complete-game victory in game six of the 1982 World Series.

Have to Earn Your Way on Base
Last year the Big Green pitching staff led the country in fewest walks issued per nine innings at 2.32. Well, apparently that was still too many as Dartmouth has lowered that number to an astounding 1.70, easily the lowest in Division I. The next five teams on the list are all nationally ranked, but have all walked at least 2.25 per nine.

Have to Earn Your Way on Base II
It is said that a defense will play better when pitchers throw strikes. The Dartmouth defense is proving that adage with a league-best .971 fielding percentage and just 25 errors in 25 games. The pitchers have taken advantage of the solid defense behind them, allowing just seven unearned runs. No other team in the country has given up fewer, but Oklahoma State is right on the Big Green's heels with eight.

Acing April
Several players have been glad to welcome April in 2010, particularly sophomore Cole Sulser and freshman Chris O'Dowd. Sulser is 3-0 with a save and a 1.38 ERA in four appearances so far this month, striking out 14 in 13 innings while allowing a measly four hits for an .095 average against him. O'Dowd, meanwhile, is hitting a robust .382 with five doubles and four homers for an .882 slugging percentage. Both junior Jeff Onstott and freshman Ennis Coble are both hitting at least .368 with the former driving in 13 runs in 11 games and the latter legging out three triples among his 14 hits.

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