Dartmouth Comes up Short Against Quinnipiac, 5-4

Wednesday, March 30

Hanover, N.H.

3:00 PM

Dartmouth College

5-14

Quinnipiac

7-14

Quinnipiac

Dartmouth

Dartmouth Comes up Short Against Quinnipiac, 5-4

3/30/2016 6:01:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Dartmouth

HANOVER, N.H. — Quinnipiac rallied from a 3-1, first-inning deficit to edge host Dartmouth, 5-4, in the Big Green's home opener on Wednesday afternoon at Red Rolfe Field at Biondi Park. The Bobcats (7-14), which are in the midst of playing 29 of their first 30 games on the road, snapped a six-game skid with the victory over Dartmouth (5-14).

Matthew Batten provided three of Quinnipiac's 10 hits on the afternoon, scoring the first run of the game in the top of the first. Brian Moskey singled and double in four trips to the plate with a run and an RBI as well.

Dartmouth also collected 10 hits in the game with senior Nick Ruppert, junior Michael Ketchmark and sophomore Dustin Shirley each rapping out a pair.

Both sides utilized seven pitchers in the game as the Big Green starter was lifted in the first inning and Quinnipiac's tossed his scheduled three stanzas.

The Bobcats loaded the bases in the top of the first with one out on a Batten single and a pair of walks, and a wild pitch allowed Batten to score for a 1-0 Quinnipiac lead. Following another walk, Big Green hurler Jackson Bubala was lifted with two down in favor of junior Chris Burkholder, who escaped without further damage by inducing a soft roller to second.

In the bottom half, the Dartmouth bats jumped all over Bobcat starter Andrew Workman. Freshman Matt Feinstein doubled on a sinking liner in front of the diving left fielder and another freshman, Sean Sullivan, beat out a bunt to put runners on the corners. On the very next pitch, senior Joe Purritano lined a shot that just eluded the center fielder in the left-center gap for a two-run triple. Ketchmark followed by dumping the next offering into right-center for an RBI single and a 3-1 Dartmouth lead.

Moskey started the fourth with a double into the left-center gap, stole third and sprinted home on a one-out, slow chopper to third, slicing the Big Green advantage in half at 3-2.

Moskey played a key role in the fifth as well as the Bobcats took the lead. Quinnipiac once again loaded the bases, this time against reliever Jack Fossand (0-1), on a couple of singles and a walk with nobody out. Fossand managed to induce a foul pop for the first out before Dartmouth head coach Bob Whalen summoned senior Beau Sulser from the bullpen. Moskey greeted him by laying down a perfect bunt for a single, tying the game at three, and John Bodenhamer followed with a fly to center that allowed Louis Iannotti to score, though Joseph Burns was thrown out attempting to take third on the play.

Quinnipiac tacked on a much-needed insurance run in the seventh. Sulser got into a jam with one out, walking Burns and allowing a line single to center to Ben Gibson on an 0-2 pitch. It appeared Sulser would escape unscathed when freshman catcher Rob Emery gunned down Burns at third on a double-steal attempt. But when Moskey hit a grounder to shortstop, the throw was low and squirted away from Ketchmark at first, allowing Gibson to score from second for an unearned run.

Dartmouth got singles from junior Ben Socher and Ruppert in the seventh, but both were left stranded. In the eighth, they put runners on first and second with one out when Shirley topped a ball toward third and beat the throw, which also squirted away for an error, allowing freshman Steffen Torgersen to slide home head first to make it a 5-4 game. Another walk reloaded the bases, but the Bobcats got third out on a force at second just ahead of Socher who slid in head first to try and beat the toss.

Robbie Hitt, who came on in the middle of the eighth, retired the side in order in the ninth to earn his first save of the season, allowing reliever Gregory Egan (2-1) to earn the victory with a scoreless fifth inning.

Ivy League play begins this weekend as Dartmouth travels to Princeton for a doubleheader on Saturday at noon, followed by a scheduled noon twinbill on Sunday at Cornell. All four games will be broadcast live on the Ivy League Digital Network. Visit ILDN.tv for more information on how to subscribe to follow the Big Green in action.

Notes: Dartmouth is 10-7 all-time against Quinnipiac, though the Bobcats have won the last two meetings ... Purritano's triple was the 10th of his career, making him one of just 10 Big Green hitters to hit amass that many ... Feinstein has reached base in all 11 games in which he has had a plate appearance.