Miscues Harmful in Doubleheader Loss at Harvard

Saturday, May 1

Cambridge, Mass.

1:00 p.m.

Dartmouth College

21-14, 11-6

Harvard

16-23, 9-8

Dartmouth

Harvard

Miscues Harmful in Doubleheader Loss at Harvard

5/1/2010 5:00:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Dartmouth

Game One Box | Game Two Box

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — To win the Ivy League's Rolfe Division, the Dartmouth Big Green entered the weekend needing just one win over Harvard in the four-game series. But the Crimson, needing a four-game sweep to stave off elimination, were able to sweep the first doubleheader in the series at O'Donnell Field, beating Dartmouth (21-15, 11-7) by scores of 8-4 and 15-7. Harvard (17-23, 10-8) is now just one game back in the standings, while the Big Green were swept in a conference doubleheader for the first time since Brown accomplished the feat on April 25, 2007.

Uncharateristic fielding woes haunted Dartmouth all day as it committed six errors and allowed eight unearned runs in the doubleheader, equaling the unearned runs it had surrendered in the first 34 games of the season. The Crimson offense contributed quite a bit itself in the twinbill, banging out 30 hits to help score its 23 runs on the day.

Five Harvard hitters collected at least four hits in the two games, led by five by shortstop Sean O'Hara and third baseman Jeff Reynolds, the latter going 5-for-6 in the nightcap. Tyler Albright and Marcus Way each drove in five runs for the home team as well.

Dartmouth struck first in game one after being retired in order in each of the first three innings. Sohpomore Joe Sclafani doubled to start the fourth, moved to third on a bunt then scored on a two-out single off the bat of junior Jason Brooks.

In the bottom half, the Crimson answered right back and then some. O'Hara matched Sclafani with a lead-off double and came around on Albright's single up the middle. Big Green starter Robert Young (3-4) picked Albright off first and got a routine grounder to right the ship momentarily, only to have the next four batters produce hits. Dan Zailskas chopped a ball over the third baseman's outstretched glove for a single and Chris Rouches lined a single to center. Kyle Larrow snuck a grounder through the right side to give Harvard the lead before Dillon O'Neill ripped a double to left-center to score both runners for a 4-1 lead.

The Big Green worked some two-out magic of their own in the fifth, starting with senior Brett Gardner getting plunked on an 0-2 pitch. Sclafani followed with another double down the left-field line as Gardner scooted around the bases. Sophomore Jake Carlson got jammed on an inside fastball but found a hole between short and third off the shortstop's glove for an RBI single to make it a 4-3 ball game.

But another four-spot for Harvard in the fifth put the game out of reach. The big blow was a two-run triple that took a bad hop over the shoulder of the Dartmouth left fielder, right after a fly down the right-field line was dropped for an error that would have ended the inning with just one run scoring. As it stood, the Crimson led, 8-3.

Harvard's Brent Suter (4-2) retired six of the last seven hitters, coughing up just a solo home run to freshman Zack Bellenger, his fourth of the year. Suter allowed just five hits in his second complete game of the year, walking one and striking out six.

Just like the first game, neither side could dent the scoreboard for the first three innings in the nightcap. But it was Harvard which broke through first in game two, tallying three runs in the fourth off senior Ben Murray (3-5). Way hit a sacrifice fly to score O'Hara who had doubled, and Dan Zailskas lined a first-pitch fastball to right for the second run. J.T. Tomes dragged a bunt for a single and the runners moved to second and third when the throw ended up out of play. Murray then uncorked a wild pitch to allow Zailskas to score.

Dartmouth responded in the fifth, beginning with a one-out error. Gardner doubled into the left-field corner, and with two outs, Carlson dumped a two-run single to center, taking second on the throw home. That proved to be important when O'Dowd singled to tie the score.

The Crimson kept the bats going thanks to a pair of errors in the bottom of the fifth. O'Neill reached on a two-base throwing error to open the frame, then with runners at second and third with one out, Dartmouth brought in sophomore relief ace Cole Sulser. The first batter he faced hit a squibber back to the mound that eluded Sulser for another error, loading the bases. Albright was hit by the first pitch to force in a run, then Way hit a double to left-center to score two more and make it 6-3.

Three more runs crossed the plate for Harvard in the sixth on an RBI single by O'Hara and a two-run double by Albright, both with two outs.

The Big Green made a game of it in the seventh as the Crimson returned the favor with two errors of their own. Gardner laced his second double of the game to start things off, and with one out, Carlson laid down a bunt that was thrown away allowing Gardner to score. O'Dowd then grounded a single, and Carlson scored when the ball went under the glove of the center fielder. Harvard went to Conner Hulse in relief of Eric Eadington, and he got the second out on strikes before issuing a walk. Bellenger came through with a two-run double to left, making it 9-7.

Harvard got another unearned run in the bottom half of the seventh, then tacked on five more in the eighth on five base hits and a walk.

Eadington (4-3) got the win despite yielding six runs (only one earned) on seven hits and a walk in 6.1 innings while striking out three.

Even with the doubleheader sweep, the Big Green still only need to win one of the two games against Harvard tomorrow afternoon at Dartmouth's Red Rolfe Field at Biondi Park to clinch the division title and advance to the Ivy Championship Series that will take place in New York against Columbia. Tomorrow will be Senior Day for the five graduating seniors on the Big Green roster, and a fundraiser for Friends of Dartmouth Baseball which will be taking donations of $5 at the gate for adults while children 12 and under will be admitted free.