First Win for Baseball an 8-0 Shutout Over Bucknell

Sunday, March 8

Punta Gorda, Fla.

11:00 AM

Dartmouth College

1-6

Bucknell

5-3

Bucknell

Dartmouth

First Win for Baseball an 8-0 Shutout Over Bucknell

3/8/2015 2:05:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Dartmouth

PUNTA GORDA, Fla. — Freshman right-handers Patrick Peterson and Sam Fichthorn combined to twirl a three-hit shutout to help Dartmouth pick up its first victory of the 2015 season, beating Bucknell by a final of 8-0 on Sunday afternoon at the Snowbird Classic. Sophomore Michael Ketchmark drove in three runs with a career-best four hits as the Big Green (1-6) ended a six-game slide.

Dartmouth pounded out 17 hits against four Bison pitchers, including 14 off of starter Bryson Hough in his 5.1 innings of work. But only four of the eight runs were earned as Bucknell (5-3) committed five errors. Joining Ketchmark in the hit parade were juniors Joe Purritano and Adam Gauthier as the duo each collected three hits with the latter including a pair of doubles to his ledger.

The scoring began in the bottom of the first when the first three Big Green batters singled. The third knock was an infield hit wide of first for Purritano, and an ill-advised throw to try and throw him out squirted away, allowing lead-off hitter Matt Parisi to score on the miscue for a 1-0 Dartmouth lead.

Hough (2-1) found himself in trouble again in the second when freshman Justin Fowler singled, stole second and took third on a Gauthier base hit to left. Another infield hit, this time off the bat of Parisi to deep short, sent Fowler across the plate before Hough got the second out on an infield pop. But his fielders let him down again as the next two batters reached on errors as another run scored. Ketchmark made the mistakes hurt even more by ripping a two-run single to left for a 5-0 lead.

Three consecutive singles in the fourth by Purritano, senior Nick Lombardi and Ketchmark brought home another run, while an error on Ketchmark's hit allowed the latter two to advance an extra base. When freshman Kyle Holbrook chopped a ball to second, Lombardi was able to cross the plate for the game's seventh run.

Meanwhile, Peterson put goose egg after goose egg on the scoreboard. The rookie ran into some trouble in the third, however, when the Bison loaded the bases on a hit batter and two walks with two gone. But Peterson (1-0) got a routine fly to right to retire the side, then only allowed a two-out runner in the fourth and fifth frames to complete his outing. He surrendered just one hit over the five innings, walking four and striking out seven.

Fichthorn took the mound to start the top of the sixth and continued his early-season dominance with four scoreless innings for his first collegiate save. Both hits off of him were harmless two-out singles, and his lone walk came with two gone and no one on base in the eighth. Three Bison batters whiffed, giving the two rookies a total of 10 punchouts on the day.

Dartmouth tacked on its final run in the bottom of the sixth when sophomore Ben Socher slapped a lead-off double down the left-field line, took third on a Purritano single and came home on a force out off the bat of Lombardi.

The Big Green get more than a week off for winter exams before flying to California for a nine-game road trip in just six days. Their first game on the West Coast will be at Pepperdine on Wednesday, March 18 at 3 p.m. (PDT).