Completed Event: Baseball versus Cornell on April 27, 2025 , Win , 7, to, 4
Final
Baseball
vs Cornell
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First Ivy Home Weekend for Baseball
4/9/2010 3:00:00 PM | Baseball
Complete Game Notes | Audio | Video | Live Stats
Last of the Gehrigs
Dartmouth welcomes Columbia and Penn to Red Rolfe Field at Biondi Park this weekend for the final games against the Gehrig Division of the Ivy League. These two Big Green opponents are the only teams in the conference to win three of their first four games, both having swept Yale while splitting a doubleheader with Brown.
One Dartmouth player that has enjoyed his games against the Lions and Quakers is Jim Wren. The senior has knocked around Columbia hurlers for a whopping .524 average (11-for-21) with four doubles. Against Penn pitchers, he is hitting an even .300 (6-for-20) but has two home runs — both coming last year. To see the stats for all of Dartmouth players against this weekend's opponents, see pages 6-7.
Last Week in Review
The Big Green got their home schedule under way in good fashion, defeating both Williams (14-4) and Quinnipiac (7-6). A trio of freshmen — Chris O'Dowd, Ennis Coble and Zack Bellenger — took to the offensive on Tuesday against the Division III Ephs, each slamming a home run in the first inning and combining for 10 hits, seven runs and eight RBIs in the game. Bellenger had a perfect 5-for-5 day at the plate, and Coble's home run was a three-run shot. Sophomore Max Langford was the recipient of the offense, winning his first start of the season with five innings on the mound and allowing two earned runs.
The next day, Dartmouth had to rally for the win after falling behind by four runs in the early going. O'Dowd tied the game in the sixth with a two-out, two-run homer — his third straight game with a round-tripper — and sophomore David Turnbull delivered a walk-off double in the ninth. Fellow soph Cole Sulser earned his fourth victory providing 2.2 scoreless innings of relief.
The Overall Record vs. Columbia
• Dartmouth has a winning percentage of .588 (94-66) against the Lions, its best against any Ivy opponent.
• Last year the Big Green gained some revenge after Columbia had beaten them in the 2008 Ivy Championship Series, sweeping a doubleheader at the Lions' home park, 7-0 and 6-5.
• Dartmouth head coach Bob Whalen boasts a 30-16 mark against Columbia in his first 20 years.
• The first game in the series took place just over 109 years ago to the day when Dartmouth defeated the Lions, 11-5, on April 7, 1891.
Probable Starting Pitchers
• As he has for every Ivy weekend beginning last season, senior LHP Robert Young (1-2, 4.50) will take the ball in the first game. He has provided quality starts in three of his first four assignments, but was the tough-luck loser last week in a 2-0 loss at Cornell. Game two will be pitched by senior RHP Ben Murray (1-3, 10.96), whose unsightly ERA is due to his early starts. Last weekend he was brilliant over eight innings, allowing just one run in a 16-1 win over the Big Red.
• While Dartmouth is going with experience in its rotation for these two games, Columbia is countering with a pair of right-handed young'uns. Sophomore RHP Pat Lowery (1-2, 5.22) has held opponents to a .268 average, striking out 19 in 29.1 innings, and will toe the slab in game one. For the second game, freshman RHP Tim Giel (1-0, 5.96) will square off against Murray. Giel got his first collegiate victory against Yale last Saturday, allowing four runs in seven innings while striking out seven.
Scouting Report on the Lions
• Since a slow start, Columbia has come on like gangbusters, winning nine of its last 10 games. Six of those wins have been by one or two runs.
• One interesting match-up on Saturday will be the strike-throwing Dartmouth pitchers versus the patient Lion hitters. The Big Green lead the nation in fewest walks per nine innings, while Columbia has drawn more walks per game (4.7) than any other Ivy team.
• The Lions sport a solid .303 average as a team with Jon Eisen leading the way at .378. But DH Alexander Aurrichio has proven to be the most dangerous hitter with a .373 average and a league-best eight home runs.
• Columbia pitchers have a nearly identical ERA as Big Green hurlers (6.17 compared to 6.20). The four weekend starters have generally been their most effective pitchers, along with closer Derek Squires who has a 1.80 ERA and three saves in 10 innings thus far.
• Defense is this team's Achilles' heel, however, with 50 errors in 24 games for a .945 fielding percentage.
• The Lions aren't afraid to put pressure on opposing defenses themselves with 32 stolen bases in 44 attempts. Nick Crucet has been their best thief, swiping 12 bags in 13 tries, but Nick Cox (if healthy) is considered the fastest runner in the league.
• Head Coach Brett Boretti (Davidson '94) is in his fifth season at the helm of Columbia and currently possesses a 74-134-1 record there. Two years ago he guided the Lions to their first Ivy title in 32 years. Overall, Boretti has a 190-216-1 record in eight-plus years as a college head coach.
The Overall Record vs. Penn
• This series, like the Columbia one, dates back to 1891. Dartmouth has the advantage against the Quakers as well, but only at 82-75-1.
• The Big Green swept Penn in Philly last year, stunning them in the first game with five runs in the seventh and final inning to tie — capped by a two-out, three-run homer by Wren — then six more in the eighth for a 14-8 win. The second game was a 9-6 affair as Wren homered again.
• Since 1923, Dartmouth is 33-24-1 against the Quakers on the site of Red Rolfe Field at Biondi Park, though this is their first games at the park since the renovations were completed last year.
• Coach Whalen is 22-15 against Penn during his tenure and has won the last four meetings.
• That inaugural game back in 1891? Quakers got the best of Dartmouth, 9-6.
Scouting Report on the Quakers
• Penn has been playing well of late with five wins in its last seven contests.
• The Quakers lead the Ivy League with a .312 average, 59 doubles and .402 on-base percentage.
• Third baseman Dan Williams is running away with the batting lead with a .442 average, not to mention a league-best 12 doubles.
• Power has been supplied by Will Davis and Tom Grandieri (the reigning Ivy Player of the Week) with five and four long balls, respectively.
• Pitching has also been solid for Penn with a 5.77 ERA and three starters at 4.50 or lower. But the bullpen duo of Reid Terry and Trey Jennings has been lights out — Terry has yet to allow an earned run (though six unearned) in 16.1 innings, while Jennings has a 3.29 ERA in 13.2 innings and a pair of saves.
• Defensively, the Quakers have 40 errors in 23 games for a .953 percentage, but shortstop Derek Vigoa has committed 15 of those miscues.
Probable Starting Pitchers
• Despite his record, sophomore RHP Kyle Hendricks (1-3, 3.75) has been perhaps Dartmouth's best starter this year with 30 strikeouts in just 24.0 innings. He has completed each of his last two starts, allowing just two earned runs in each, yet took the loss in both games. Freshman LHP Kyle Hunter (1-0, 3.52) gets the nod for game two. The southpaw has been a nice addition to the rotation and leads the team in ERA while allowing just five runs in 20 innings as a starter.
• Penn will counter with RHP Paul Cusick (2-2, 4.50) in the first game of the doubleheader on Sunday to match up the Ivy strikeouts leaders. Cusick has fanned 33 on the year, including nine over 5.1 innings in a win over Yale last Sunday. Junior RHP Todd Roth (1-2, 6.04) goes in game two. As a freshman, he was Penn's top starter with a 2.32 ERA in 62 innings but has struggled since, posting a 7.26 ERA last year.
O'Dowd, Oh My!
Freshman catcher Chris O'Dowd hit his first career home run at a very opportune time at Princeton — in the top of the ninth to tie the score. He then doubled home the winning run in the tenth to cap his day. O'Dowd then homered in each of the next two games, once giving Dartmouth the lead in the first versus Williams, the other time tying the game in the sixth against Quinnipiac. Both Nick Santomauro and Mike Pagliarulo went yard in three straight games last year, but not a fourth.
Sulser Success
Cole Sulser seems to have that winning touch this year with a 4-0 record and a save in six appearances on the mound. Most recently, he tossed the final 2.2 innings versus Quinnipiac on April 7, shutting the Bobcats down on one hit with three strikeouts, to earn the victory. His other wins have come against Wright State, Northwestern and Princeton. In 25 innings, the right-hander has struck out 26 and walked just four, plus has not allowed a home run while allowing the opposition to hit team-low .276.
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