Young's Shutout Begins Doubleheader Sweep of Yale

Sunday, April 18

Hanover, N.H.

12:00 p.m.

Dartmouth College

14-12, 5-4

Yale

16-14-1, 3-6

Yale

Dartmouth

Young's Shutout Begins Doubleheader Sweep of Yale

4/18/2010 5:15:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Dartmouth

Game One Box | Game Two Box

HANOVER, N.H. — Senior Robert Young tossed a six-hit shutout for a 3-0 win in the first game of a doubleheader against Yale on Sunday afternoon at Red Rolfe Field at Biondi Park to open up the twinbill sweep for Dartmouth (15-12, 6-4 Ivy). In the nightcap, senior Jim Wren and freshman Zack Bellenger each homered in a five-run first as the Big Green cruised to a 7-4 triumph over the Bulldogs (16-15-1, 3-7 Ivy).

Young (2-3) did not walk a batter in his seven-inning gem, striking out two and retiring the side in order three times for his first career shutout. Only once did Yale have two base runners on at the same time, and Young finished the game strong by setting down the final seven batters he faced, throwing just 93 pitches on the day.

Junior Jason Brooks was a part of all three Big Green runs in the game, collecting three of the Big Green's six hits in three trips to the plate with two doubles, two runs and an RBI.

Dartmouth gave Young all the runs he would need in the second when Brooks just missed a home run by a few feet to straight-away center, settling for a two-out double, and senior Brett Gardner followed with a single through the left side for a 1-0 lead.

Brooks started another rally in the fifth with a lead-off double into the left-center gap. After moving to third on a fly ball to the wall in right off Gardner's bat, he trotted home on sophomore Jake Carlson's line single up the middle past a drawn-in infield.

The third run was unearned against Bulldog pitcher Pat Ludwig in the sixth, but he started the trouble by walking junior Jeff Onstott to start the frame. Freshman Ennis Coble then hit a pop-up into shallow left-center, but the shortstop had trouble tracking the ball in the misting rain and dropped it for an error. Bellenger bunted the runners along before Brooks hit a shot off the glove of the diving third baseman for an RBI single and the final run of the game.

Ludwig (3-4) suffered the loss despite striking out 10 in his six innings. He allowed three runs, two earned, on six hits and four walks as well.

The Big Green exploded right out of the gate in game two, tagging Yale hurler Vinny Lally (5-2) for five runs in the first inning. Carlson bunted the first pitch of the inning for a base hit, and freshman Chris O'Dowd walked. Lally got the first out on strikes, but could not get a 3-1 fastball past Wren, who launched the pitch over the right-field fence for a three-run shot and his second long ball of the year. After another strikeout, Gardner drew a walk to set up Bellenger's second four-bagger of the year as well, this one a two-run shot.

Yale got two of those runs back in the third against senior Ben Murray, who had set down the side in order in the first two frames. Andrew Kolmar began the inning by smacking his second home run of the year to get the Bulldogs on the board. One out later, Matt Schmidt sent a ball into the right-field corner and scampered for a triple. He came home on a Gant Elmore grounder to short, making it a 5-2 game.

O'Dowd dropped a two-out, RBI triple into the right-field corner in the fourth, scoring Brooks who had led off with a walk, boosting the lead to four runs at 6-2.

In the sixth, the Bulldogs knocked Murray from the mound and threatened to make it a tight ball game. Murray walked Schmidt to begin the inning — the first walk issued by a Dartmouth pitcher all day — and nearly escaped without any damage. But Trygg Larsson-Danforth hit a high fly down the left-field line that no one could get to as it fell in for an RBI double. Another walk and a hit batter sent head coach Bob Whalen to the mound to summon sophomore Cole Sulser into the game. With the go-ahead run at the plate, the right-hander made quick work of the hitter, needing just four pitches to get a called third strike to end the rally.

The lead went back to four runs in the seventh when sophomore Joe Sclafani walked with one gone, stole second — his third steal of the twinbill — and just beat the throw to the plate on Wren's hard single through the right side.

Sulser finished the game for his third save, allowing just an RBI triple in the ninth, the first run he had surrendered in 15 innings. Murray (3-3) picked up his third straight win, all in conference play, yielding just three runs on three hits, two walks and a hit batter while striking out a season-high four batters.

Wren finished the game a perfect 2-for-2 with two walks, a run and four RBIs, equaling a career high. Bellenger also had two of Dartmouth's eight hits with a double and his round-tripper.

The two teams will conclude their four-game series with a doubleheader on Monday beginning at noon.

Notes: Over those 15 innings, Sulser had allowed just four hits and one walk with 18 strikeouts ... Sulser has either earned a win or a save in eight of his nine appearances this season ... both Young and Murray picked up their first career victories against Yale ... Dartmouth has won five straight against the Bulldogs dating back to last year ... the Big Green have won four straight for the first time since a five-game streak last year from April 18-25.