Dartmouth Clinches Rolfe Division Crown

Sunday, May 2

Hanover, N.H.

1:00 p.m.

Dartmouth College

22-15, 12-7

Harvard

17-24, 10-9

Harvard

Dartmouth

5/2/2010 3:00:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Dartmouth

Game One Box | Game Two Box

HANOVER, N.H. — Sophomore right-hander Kyle Hendricks was in control from the first pitch, tossing a two-hit shutout as Dartmouth defeated Harvard, 9-0, in the first game of a doubleheader on Sunday at Red Rolfe Field at Biondi Park to clinch first place in the Ivy League's Rolfe Division. Junior Jason Brooks provided much of the offense, going 3-for-3 with a career-high six RBIs and falling just a single shy of the cycle. The Big Green rallied in game two with five runs in the eighth as freshman Matt Peterson provided the game-winning hit in the 9-7 win.

With another strong offensive performance in game two, Brooks finished the day 6-for-7 with a double, triple, home run and eight RBIs.

Dartmouth finishes the regular season with a 23-15 record and 13-7 mark in the Ivy League for its third straight division title and sixth in the past 10 years. Harvard ends the year at 17-25 overall and an even 10-10 in conference play.

The Crimson had swept Dartmouth in a doubleheader in Cambridge on Saturday, and another sweep would propel them to the division crown. But Hendricks (4-4) never gave Harvard a chance, needing just 75 pitches in the seven-inning game to produce his masterpiece as he faced just one over the minimum. It was his second career complete-game shutout, striking out four without walking a single batter.

“Kyle had command of all three pitches from the start of the game,” head coach Bob Whalen said afterward. “He didn't need to find his breaking ball by throwing it over and over — he was able to locate each of his pitches all day. When a pitcher can do that, it makes it awfully tough for the other team, especially when the pitcher can throw with velocity as well.”

Hendricks retired the first seven batters he faced to start the game, and erased the first base runner — a single by Chris Rouches — with a double play in the third.

Meanwhile, Dartmouth got the bats going in the bottom of the second, starting with a lead-off single by senior Jim Wren. After sophomore Jake Carlson was hit by a pitch, Brooks got hold of a hanging curveball on a 1-2 count and launched it over the fence in left for a three-run shot, his team-leading fifth long ball of the year.

Brooks came through again in the third with a two-out double to the gap in right-center, scoring Carlson who had been plunked again. Brooks tried to stretch it into a triple, but wiped out halfway to third and was tagged out trying to scramble back to second.

In the fourth, junior Jeff Onstott lined a double over the shortstop with one gone, and with southpaw reliever Will Keuper on the mound, Harvard elected to walk switch-hitter Joe Sclafani with two gone to face the lefty-swinging Sam Bean. The strategy was foiled by Bean, however, when he pulled a shot down the right-field line for a two-run triple, giving Dartmouth a commanding 6-0 lead with three innings to go.

Wren began another scoring rally with a double to start the fifth. Carlson laid down a bunt, and Wren beat the throw to third to put runners on the corners for Brooks. The first baseman did not disappoint the crowd of 963 by hitting another shot to the gap in right-center, this time lumbering around for his fifth triple of the year to drive in both runners, making it 8-0.

The final run came home on a Wren single through the right side in the sixth, scoring Sclafani who had walked and gone to third on a double by freshman Chris O'Dowd.

Dan Zailskas (0-1) took the loss, surrendering the first four runs in his three innings on the mound.

In the nightcap, Big Green freshman Kyle Hunter continued to stymie the Crimson bats, allowing just one run during his six innings of work. The left-hander gave up six hits and just one walk while striking out a season-high seven batters.

Dartmouth had built a 3-1 lead going into the seventh as Brooks delivered an RBI single in the second for the first run, with two more crossing the plate in the fifth on a wild pickoff attempt and a Bean sacrifice fly.

Harvard got to the Big Green bullpen in the seventh, breaking loose for five runs, the last scoring on a double steal. But the Dartmouth players did not hang their heads and went right to work. Freshman Ennis Coble hit a lead-off triple over the center fielder's head in the bottom of the seventh, then scored on a grounder by Peterson.

In the eighth, the Crimson got that run back on a Danny Moskovits double and a Dillon O'Neill triple, making it 7-4.

Dartmouth began its half with back-to-back doubles by Bean and senior Ezra Josephson, and after Wren walked for the third time in the game with one gone, Harvard went to Joey Novak (1-3) in the bullpen. Brooks greeted him with another RBI single, and an error loaded the bases for Peterson. He jumped on a 1-1 pitch, ripping the ball just inside the third-base bag for a two-run double, his first collegiate hit and giving the Green an 8-7 lead. Sophomore David Turnbull got the ninth run home on a single up the middle that could only be knocked down by the shortstop.

Junior Ryan Smith (3-1) earned the win with 1.1 scoreless innings of relief.

By winning the division, Dartmouth advances to the Ivy Championship Series that will be hosted by Columbia by virtue of its league-best 14-6 record. The series will begin with a twinbill on Saturday at Robertson Field with a third game if necessary on Sunday.