Home Win Streak Intact After Sweep of Penn

Saturday, April 7

Hanover, N.H.

12:00 PM

Dartmouth College

6-13, 2-3

Penn

12-11, 3-2

Penn

Dartmouth

4/7/2012 6:30:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Dartmouth

HANOVER, N.H. — Senior shortstop Joe Sclafani went 5-for-8 on the day with four runs and four RBIs while left-handers Mitch Horacek and Adam Frank contributed strong starts on the mound in both ends of the doubleheader, leading Dartmouth to a sweep of the visiting Penn Quakers on Saturday afternoon at Red Rolfe Field at Biondi Park, 6-3 and 11-2. The Big Green (7-13, 3-3 Ivy) extended their home winning streak to 28 games, the longest in the nation, while Penn (12-12, 3-3 Ivy) fell out of a four-way tie for first in the Gehrig Division.

Among Sclafani's five hits was his 17th career triple, breaking the Dartmouth all-time record that had stood for 29 years. But more importantly, he also hit a game-tying home run in the fourth inning of game one, then provided the winning hit in the sixth, breaking a 3-3 deadlock.

The historic three-bagger came leading off the bottom of the first against Penn ace Vince Voiro, and freshman Thomas Roulis followed with a sacrifice fly for a 1-0 Big Green lead. The Quakers got the run back in the top of the second, however, when Spencer Branigan hit a deep drive to left-center. Center fielder Jake Carlson laid out and initially made the catch, but could not hold the ball when he hit the ground. Branigan cruised into second base with a double, then sprinted home when the throw back to the infield squirted back into center field for an unearned run.

With the score still tied at one in the fourth, James Mraz hit a lead-off single and went to third on a double by Greg Zebrack. Horacek nearly escaped the jam with a strikeout and an infield pop for the first two outs, but Derek Vigoa slapped a 1-2 pitch through the left side for a two-run single and a 3-1 lead.

Sclafani got those runs back in the bottom half, launching an opposite-field, two-run blast over the fence in left, plating senior David Turnbull who had singled with one out.

After Horacek escaped a two-out bases-loaded jam in the top of the sixth, the Big Green bats went to work against Voiro. Turnbull fanned on a pitch down and away, but the ball skipped past the catcher, allowing Turnbull to take first on the wild pitch. Carlson laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt, and when the throw got away at first, Dartmouth had runners on the corners with nobody out. Sclafani took a strike before finding a hole on the right side of the infield for the RBI single, then took second when the throw got away as the Quaker right fielder tried to gun down Carlson. On the very next pitch, Roulis dropped a ball just beyond the drawn-in infield for two insurance runs.

It turned out that Horacek (2-2) did not need those runs, although he did walk a hitter with one out. But he promptly induced a double-play grounder to end the game, giving him his third complete game of the year. The sophomore southpaw equaled a personal best with seven strikeouts over his seven innings, yielding three runs, two earned, on six hits and a pair of walks.

Voiro, who entered the game with a 1.60 ERA in nearly 40 innings, suffered the loss to fall to 4-2 on the season. He surrendered all six runs, only four earned, on 10 hits and a season-high three walks while fanning six in six stanzas.

Sclafani and Roulis each had three RBIs to account for all six Dartmouth runs, and the duo combined for five of the team's 10 hits from the top two spots in the order.

Frank (3-1), the reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Week, kept the Quaker bats in check for the first seven innings of game two before tiring in the eighth. Penn managed just two hits in those first seven frames, both coming in the third when it put runners on second and third with nobody out and the Big Green holding on to a 2-0 lead courtesy of a two-run double off the bat of sophomore Jeff Keller in he first. Frank maintained his composure inducing a shallow fly to right just behind second and an infield pop to first for the first two outs. The situation became more dangerous when he walked Jason Mraz to face the Quakers' top hitter, Greg Zebrack, who launched a high-arcing drive to deep left-center. Carlson was able to race it down, however, leaping into the fence to make a spectacular catch to end the inning.

From there, the Big Green bats came to life and pulled away. In the fourth, freshman Nick Lombardi crushed a two-run bomb to left, the first of his career. One inning later, sophomore Dustin Selzer drove a two-run double into the right-field corner to send Penn starter Sam Horn (1-2) to the showers. Reliever Mike Zuppe walked the first two batter he faced, then forced in a run with a two-out walk to Turnbull for a 7-0 lead.

More wildness led to four more runs in the seventh. Penn walked the bases loaded to start the inning, and Lombardi sent two scurrying home with a double. Sclafani singled home another run, and junior Ennis Coble was hit by a pitch with the bags full for the final run.

Zebrack accounted for both Quaker runs with a two-run shot off of Frank in the eighth, but the freshman finished his day hurling 7.1 innings — the most by a Dartmouth pitcher this season — and giving up just the two runs on five hits and three walks with a pair of strikeouts. Sophomore Mike Dodakian got the final five outs, with the last one looking at strike three with the bases loaded.

Every Dartmouth starter in the lineup reached base at least twice, with Lombardi leading the offense with four RBIs and Selzer scoring three times. The Big Green batters drew a season-high 11 walks while collecting 11 hits as well.

Dartmouth will put its 28-game home winning streak on the line again on Sunday when Columbia (11-15, 4-2 Ivy) comes to town for a twinbill that begins at noon. Penn will head down the road to Cambridge to take on Harvard (5-20, 2-4 Ivy) tomorrow in a noon doubleheader as well.

Notes: Sclafani needs just one more hit to become the fifth player in Dartmouth history with 200 in a career … the senior shortstop also collected his 100th career RBI today — the game-winner in the first game … Penn is the last team to defeat the Big Green in Hanover, back on April 11, 2010 … of the 20 Dartmouth games this season, 18 have been started by left-handers.