Dartmouth Downed in Doubleheader at Northridge, 8-1 and 4-3

Friday, March 20

Los Angeles, Calif.

2:00 PM

Dartmouth College

1-9

Cal State Northridge

17-5

Dartmouth

Cal State Northridge

Dartmouth Downed in Doubleheader at Northridge, 8-1 and 4-3

3/20/2015 7:43:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Dartmouth

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Host Cal State Northridge swept a doubleheader from the Dartmouth baseball team on Friday on the strength of a seven-inning complete game by left-hander Jerry Keel for an 8-1 victory in the opener and three RBIs from Nick Blaser for a nip-and-tuck 4-3 win in game two at Matador Field. The Matadors (18-5) have won the first three games of the series and five in a row overall, while the Big Green fell to 1-10 on the season.

Keel (3-1) kept the Dartmouth bats in check to start the day, yielding the solitary run on five hits without a walk while fanning five. His defense turned three double plays behind him in the first three innings as the Big Green left just one man on base in the seven-inning contest.

The Dartmouth defense did not help senior starter Louis Concato (0-3) much as three errors contributed to five unearned runs as the right-hander went the distance. In his six innings on the hill, he allowed five hits and an uncharacteristic five walks to go with three strikeouts.

Two walks and an error on a bunt loaded the bases and opened the door for CSUN in the third. Ryan Raslowsky beat out an infield hit to drive in the first run, and after Concato whiffed the next hitter for the second out, but Nick Murphy shot a ball through the right side for a two-run single and a 3-0 lead.

The Big Green got one of those runs back in the fourth when junior Joe Purritano doubled with two outs and came home on a Nick Lombardi single back through the box. In the bottom half, Albee Weiss answered immediately with a leadoff solo shot to left-center, his second of the year.

In the sixth, the Matadors doubled their total with four more runs all without the aid of a hit. A walk and a hit batter got Concato in trouble, and an error allowed the first run of the frame to cross the plate. Another walk and error, as well as two sacrifice flies, put the game out of reach.

Both squads had five players with one hit in the game, with Weiss and Flashman scoring two runs and Murphy driving in two.

Cal State Northridge jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second game as well, and once again a leadoff walk was the culprit. Singles off the bats of Nolan Bumstead and Weiss loaded the bases for Blaser, who sent a single to center to plate two runs. A sacrifice bunt set up Chester Pak's sacrifice fly to conclude the scoring in the stanza.

But the Big Green came right back with three of their own in the top of the third with a little help from the Matador defense. With freshman Justin Fowler, who had singled, on second with two out, classmate Dustin Shirley reached on an error and Purritano walked to load the bases. Lombardi then put a jolt into a 2-2 pitch, sending it into the gap in left-center for a three-run double to tie the score at three.

Dartmouth senior starter Adam Frank struck out two in the bottom half, but four walks forced in a run, the last to Blaser, allowing CSUN to reclaim the lead at 4-3.

After giving up the three unearned runs, Matador hurler Conner O'Neil (2-1) settled in and did not allow a run over the next three innings before yielding to his bullpen. The Big Green put a man on second in the eighth with one out, but Joey Deceglie and Nick Viola each retired a hitter to preserve the one-run lead.

After senior Bo Patterson led off the ninth with a base hit, Cal State Northridge turned to Angel Rodriguez to shut the door. Two force outs and a fly to center later and Rodriguez had his second save of the year.

Frank (0-2) was lifted after four frames after he was touched for four runs on four hits and five walks while striking out four. Senior Thomas Olson — making his first appearance since the 2013 season — tossed a scoreless inning with a strikeout, and freshman Patrick Peterson shut down the Matadors for three innings on two hits and a punchout.

Bumstead had three of the CSUN seven safeties in the game, matching Dartmouth's total spread out over seven hitters, while Purritano reached base three times with three free passes.

The Big Green will try to salvage the final game of the four-game series when the two meet on the diamond on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. (PDT). Dartmouth will then get on a bus and head to 16th-ranked UC Santa Barbara for a game at 3 p.m. (PDT).