Rolfe Division on the Line at Yale This Weekend

	DARTMOUTH BIG GREEN (19-12, 8-4 Ivy)	YALE BULLDOGS (20-14, 10-2 Ivy)
April 23-24, 2017 • Yale Field (6,200) • New Haven, Conn.

THE SERIES
DARTMOUTH	YALE
Notes \| Stats \| Twitter	Notes \| Stats \| Twitter
April 23 (Game 1) • Noon Audio: ILDN \| Live Stats
RHP Michael Danielak (6-1, 2.28)	RHP Scott Politz (7-1, 3.67)
April 23 (Game 2) • ~2:30 p.m. Audio: ILDN \| Live Stats
RHP Cole O'Connor (4-1, 3.58)	RHP Eric Brodkowitz (2-2, 5.24)
April 24 (Game 1) • Noon Audio: ILDN \| Live Stats
RHP Beau Sulser (4-1, 1.45)	RHP Alex Stiegler (2-2, 7.28)
April 24 (Game 2) • ~2:30 p.m. Audio: ILDN \| Live Stats
TBA	LHP Kumar Nambiar (2-1, 6.33)

Rolfe Division Clash
With Dartmouth playing four games at Yale this weekend, the fate of the Rolfe Division is firmly entrenched in the outcomes of those four contests. Should the Big Green win all four, they would have a two-game lead in the standings with four to play, while the Bulldogs only need a split to enjoy a two-game lead of their own. If Yale were to win the series, it would at the very least clinch a tie for the top spot in the standings.
The most interesting scenario would be if Dartmouth takes three of the four games. That would leave the two teams tied at the top going into the final weekend of play. The two teams have squared off in a one-game playoff in two of the last three seasons; could this be the third time in four years?

The Overall Record vs. Yale
•   The two teams have met 224 times on the diamond with the Bulldogs leading 124-99-1, although Dartmouth has won 23 of the last 33.
•   Yale has hosted the Big Green for 98 games since the steel and concrete structure was built in 1928, with Dartmouth going 37-60-1 in that time.
•   Since the divisional format was instituted in 1993, the Green are 23-26 in New Haven against Yale. Two years ago they swept the four-game series at Yale Field for the first time, which began a 14-game win streak and clean sweep of the three Rolfe Division teams. But last year the Bulldogs got their revenge on the site, beating Dartmouth, 5-4, in the divisional playoff game.
•   Big Green head coach Bob Whalen enters this game with a 57-47 mark versus Yale.
•   The first game in the series took place 136 years ago in 1881 when the Big Green defeated Yale, 6-3.

Scouting the Bulldogs
•   Yale has had a strong season, particularly in April with an 11-4 record, which includes a 10-2 mark in the Ivy League, the best record in the conference.
•   The Bulldogs have averaged more runs than any other Ancient Eight team at 7.1 per game, thanks in part to leading the league with 29 homers (nine of which came in four games at Harvard).
•   Third baseman Richard Slenker has been a force at the plate all season with an OPS of .944, and Benny Wanger has been on a tear since essentially missing 16 games with an OPS over 1.100.
•   Tim DeGraw (14-17 SB) and Simon Whiteman (9-11 SB) are the main running threats on the roster, both of whom are hitting over .310.
•   The pitching staff has had some struggles, however, with a 6.22 team ERA overall, though it has dropped to 5.02 in league play, third lowest behind Dartmouth (3.20) and Penn (3.75).
•   Out of the bullpen, Tyler Duncan has been a reliable long reliever in league play with a 1.86 ERA, and Griffin Dey has earned a win in each of his three Ivy appearances, allowing the opposition to hit just .059 against him.
•   The Bulldogs are third in the league with a .968 fielding percentage while throwing out 11-of-41 base stealers (26.8 percent).

Last Year Against Yale
The Bulldogs became the first Rolfe Division team to win a series at Red Rolfe Field at Biondi Park, taking the first three games before Dartmouth salvaged game four. But the biggest Yale victory came in the divisional playoff with a 5-4 victory over the Big Green.

In Hanover, the Bulldogs won the first three games by a combined four runs. A pair of unearned runs in the sixth inning of the opener allowed Yale to squeak out a 7-6 win. A four-run second was all the Elis needed in the second game as they held off Dartmouth, 5-3. The following day, Joe Purritano belted a two-out, two-run, pinch homer in the seventh, but it left the Green a run short in a 4-3 decision as Mason Kukowski came in to get the final out for his third save of the weekend. Dartmouth finally broke through for a 10-4 triumph in the finale as Michael Ketchmark went 4-for-5 with two doubles, a homer and five RBIs. It was his two-out, three-run bomb in the seventh that broke a 4-4 deadlock and sent the Big Green on their way.

The divisional playoff was an exciting affair with the lead changing hands several times. Thomas Roulis doubled in the tying run in the sixth, and Purritano smacked a solo homer in the eighth for a 4-3 lead. But an infield out and a two-out infield hit brought home Yale's tying and winning runs, and the Big Green left runners on second and third in the ninth to end Dartmouth's streak of eight straight Rolfe Division titles.

Probable Starting Pitchers
•   The series opener will feature the Ivy League's winningest pitchers. For Dartmouth, RHP Michael Danielak (6-1, 2.28) will climb the mound looking for his first career win against the Bulldogs. Yale will go with RHP Scott Politz (7-1, 3.67), who has gone the distance in each of his three conference starts.
•   On tap for game two are Big Green RHP Cole O'Connor (4-1, 3.58), the winner in each of his first three Ivy League starts, and Bulldog RHP Eric Brodkowitz (2-2, 5.24) who has struck out 40 batters in 44.2 innings.
•   The Ivy League's ERA leader and two-time Pitcher of the Week, senior RHP Beau Sulser (4-1, 1.45), is coming off a seven-inning complete-game win in which he allowed one unearned run. He will be matched up against RHP Alex Stiegler (2-2, 7.28), who has struck out 26 and walked just four in 29.2 innings, but allowed 42 hits.
•   Dartmouth has called upon junior RHP Jack Fossand (1-1, 5.87) for the fourth game each of the first three Ivy weekends, but the fourth slot is up in the air this week. For the Bulldogs, LHP Kumar Nambiar (2-1, 6.33) will make his first start of the season after making 12 relief appearances.

What's Up Next
The final week of the regular season sends Dartmouth to Siena for a mid-week clash on Wednesday before a four-game set against Harvard over the weekend. Saturday will be Senior Day at Red Rolfe Field at Biondi Park as the Big Green honor their eight seniors with the doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. The Crimson will host Dartmouth on Sunday for another twinbill that will also begin at 1 p.m.

Last Week in Review
•   The Big Green took three of four from Brown last weekend, then defeated Boston College in the final contest of a 10-game homestand, 8-3.
•   Dartmouth pitching handcuffed the Bears in the first three games, yielding a solitary run over seven innings in each of those matchups.
•   Michael Danielak went the distance in the first game, bolstered by a four-run second capped by a Matt Feinstein two-out, two-run single.
•   In game two, Cole O'Connor picked up the win in a 7-1 triumph as Michael Ketchmark went 3-for-5 with two doubles and three runs.
•   Game three was a bit tighter at 3-1 as Beau Sulser struck out eight while allowing one unearned run. Ketchmark belted a two-run homer in the fourth to put Dartmouth on top, then drove in the final run in the sixth for good measure.
•   The final game was a roller-coaster ride that saw the Green rally from an early five-run deficit to tie it in the eighth, score three in the ninth on a two-out, three-run bomb off the bat of Mike Brown to tie it again, only to fall in 10 innings.
•   In the win over BC, Dustin Shirley (3-for-5, run, two RBIs), Ketchmark (3-for-5, two runs, two RBIs) and Nate Ostmo (three RBIs) were the offensive stars while Jackson Bubala picked up the win with 2.2 innings of relief while fanning four.

Holbrook Still Streaking
Junior Kyle Holbrook has started every game this season and has hit safely in 25 of the 31 contests. But he has reached base via a hit, walk or HBP in all but one of those games, including the last 23 in a row. It is the longest streak of reaching base since Jim Wren '10 did so for 27 straight games in 2009. Nick Santomauro '10 also had a 27-game streak the previous year.

Bubala Gets 1st Win in 2 Years
Senior Jackson Bubala took the mound against Boston College on April 18 with a 3-1 lead in the fourth inning and allowed just one unearned run over 2.2 frames to go with four strikeouts to earn the victory in the 8-3 contest. It was the second win of his career, the first coming against Cornell on April 4 in an 8-5 triumph. The four strikeouts matched a personal best achieved three times previously, though all in longer outings.

Big Green Bits
•   After a 1-for-16 skid dropped his average to .255, Dustin Shirley has hit in five straight games, going 8-for-18 (.444) to raise his average 28 points.
•   Michael Ketchmark is also on a tear of late, hitting .464 (13-for-28) over his last seven games with four doubles, a homer and seven RBIs.
•   Nate Ostmo equaled a career high with three RBIs in the win over Boston College.
•   In three consecutive games, Dartmouth had a player compete in his 100th career game. First, Adam Gauthier did in the third game against Brown. Then it was Holbrook's turn in the final game of that series. Finally, Ben Socher pinch hit against BC to appear in his 100th game.
•   Over his last four outings, freshman Austen Michel has struck out 15 without a walk in just 10 innings of work.
•   Only two relievers have gotten a decision on the mound this season — Jackson Bubala (1-2 as a reliever) and Patrick Peterson (2-3).

Perfect Pitchers in Ivy
Well, not perfect as in perfect games. Three Ivy League pitchers have pitched in three games and earned victories in all three, all of whom are on the two teams in the series this weekend. Cole O'Connor is 3-0 in his three starts for Dartmouth, and has won four of his last five starts after not earning a victory in his first career 10 starts. Yale has two pitchers that are 3-0 — game one starter Scott Politz as well as Griffin Dey in three relief appearances.

Ivy Pitcher of the Week, Part IV
For pitching a seven-inning complete game and allowing just one unearned run while striking out eight against Brown on April 16, senior Beau Sulser was tabbed as the Ivy League Pitcher of the Week for the second time this season and the fourth time for a Big Green pitcher. Sulser also picked up the hardware for his 1-0 victory over Miami back on March 3. The right-hander enters the weekend with a 1.45 ERA, tops in the league. The last Big Green pitcher to lead the Ancient Eight in ERA? Josh Faiola in 2006 at 2.45.

Downtown Brown
Prior to the last game against the Brown Bears, Mike Brown had come to the plate 113 times in his career and had the grand total of two extra-base hits, both doubles. But with Dartmouth trailing the Bears by three with two on and two outs in the ninth, Brown belted a long home run onto Park Street against his namesake team to knot the score at eight. Not only was it his first career home run, but the first Big Green long ball with more than one runner on base all season, not to mention just the team's second home run after the fourth inning.

Home Win Streak vs. Brown Ends
Until Brown vanquished the Big Green in the final game of the four-game series on April 16, 9-8, it had been eight years since the Bears had won a game at Red Rolfe Field at Biondi Park. Dartmouth swept the series in Hanover in 2011, 2013 and 2015, and by winning the first three games this year, had run its win streak at home against Brown to 15 games. The Big Green are now 18-2 against the Bears at Biondi Park since it was built in 2009. Now the longest home win streak against an Ivy League opponent is just two (Columbia).

First-Inning Woes
For whatever reason, Dartmouth pitchers have had the most difficult time with the very first inning this season. Big Green opponents have scored 30 runs in their first at-bats, 12 more than any other inning. The staff ERA for the first inning is 6.68, by far the worst of any of the first nine (the ERA is 6.75 in the 10th). Most recently, Brown scored six of its 12 runs in the four games in the first frame. But from the second through seventh innings, Dartmouth's ERA is 3.10.

Bases (Exp)Loaded
When opposing pitchers have loaded the bases this season, Dartmouth hitters have made them pay dearly. As a team, the Big Green is hitting .432 (19-for-44) with 46 RBIs when the bags are full. Matt Feinstein (4-for-5, 2B, 7 RBIs), Dustin Shirley (2-for-3, 2 2Bs, 2 SF, 7 RBIs) and Kyle Holbrook (2-for-4, 2B, SF, 7 RBIs) have been especially effective in such situations at the plate. But it has been awhile since a Dartmouth hitter belted a grand slam — Jeff Keller against Harvard on April 29, 2014.

Web Gems
The Dartmouth defense came up with a number of spectacular defensive plays last week, including a spinning throw behind second base by shortstop Nate Ostmo. But it was a Matt Feinstein leaping catch into the fence in left that got ranked as the fourth-best play in the Ivy Top 5 Plays of the Week. Even better was Beau Sulser's diving grab on a popped-up bunt in the final frame to start a double play to help preserve a 3-1 victory over Brown. That got the number-one slot.

The week prior, freshman center fielder Trevor Johnson made the highlight reels with an over-the-shoulder catch just before slamming into the fence in a loss to Princeton. The Ivy League gave him the third-best play of the week, and his diving catch against BC on April 18 may show up in the rankings this week.

League Leaders
Dartmouth sits atop the league in a number of statistical categories this season, such as:
•   On-base percentage (.387, 37th nationally)
•   Sacrifice flies (21, 16th)
•   Triples (11, 51st)
•   Stolen bases (36)
•   Walks issued per nine innings (2.72, 12th)
•   Strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.74, 34th)
•   WHIP (1.34, 61st)

Several Big Green players lead the league in various statistics as well:
•   Beau Sulser — ERA (1.45, 23rd nationally), K-BB ratio (9.0, 10th), WHIP (0.94, 33rd), hits allowed per nine innings (7.26)
•   Trevor Johnson — stolen bases (15, 33rd)
•   Dustin Shirley — sacrifice flies (6, 11th), triples (3)

Schedules