Dartmouth Wins Season Opener at UTSA, 4-3

Friday, February 22

San Antonio, Texas

7:00 PM

Dartmouth College

1-0

UTSA

2-3

Dartmouth

UTSA

Senior Steffen Torgersen

Photo by: Gil Talbot

2/22/2019 10:23:00 PM | Baseball

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Steffen Torgersen backed the strong start by Cole O'Connor with three hits

By: Rick Bender

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Senior Cole O'Connor tossed 7.1 innings of three-run ball and sophomore Max Hunter got the final out on a foul pop to first with the tying run on third to allow Dartmouth (1-0) to win its 2019 season opener on Friday night at UTSA (2-3), 4-3.

Senior Steffen Torgersen led a 14-hit Big Green attack, going 3-for-4 with an RBI triple, and junior Michael Calamari had two hits and scored twice to bolster the Dartmouth lineup. Seniors Nate Ostmo and Matt Feinstein, along with freshman Kade Kretzschmar, joined Calamari with a pair of knocks

O'Connor threw exactly 100 pitches before being relieved with a man on and one out in the eighth with a 4-2 lead by junior Michael Parsons. Taylor Barber nearly knotted the score on Parson's first pitch, doubling off the wall down the left-field line. But after a sacrifice fly, Parsons got the third out looking at strike three, then gave way to Hunter to start the ninth.

Hunter issued a free pass to the first hitter he faced, and after a sacrifice bunt and a comebacker, the Roadrunners had the tying run 90 feet away. But the southpaw got the three-hole hitter, Bryan Arias, to loft a 2-2 pitch into foul territory over by the Big Green dugout, where Calamari drifted over from his position at first base and secured the final out.

UTSA struck first with a solitary run in the bottom of the second when Nick Thornquist rapped a leadoff double to left before Bryan Sturges dropped a single into left-center to bring him home.

In the top half of the third, Dartmouth answered right back after senior Nate Ostmo doubled junior Trevor Johnson to third with nobody out. Calamari followed with an RBI grounder to second, and the Green loaded the bases, threatening to take the lead. But Roadrunner hurler Karan Patel, who stranded five runners in the first two innings, got the second out on strikes and covered first on a tough grounder in the hole between first and second to keep the score tied at one.

It was Thornquist and Sturges who started the next UTSA rally in the fourth, starting the frame with leadoff singles. A fielder's choice put runners on the corners before Joshua Lomb lofted a sacrifice fly to right, putting the Roadrunners back on top, 2-1.

Again the Big Green responded in the next inning to tie the score as Torgersen lined a two-out, full-count pitch to the gap in right-center for a triple, plating Calamari who had singled.

Both teams failed to capitalize on a pair of base runners in the sixth, but Dartmouth knocked Patel from the box in the seventh. Ostmo was plunked to start the stanza, took third on Calamari's second base hit and trotted home when senior Matt Feinstein blooped a ball inside the right-field foul line for an RBI single. Torgesen then ended Patel's evening with a line single to center that was bobbled, allowing Calamari to score the fourth Big Green run from second.

O'Connor retired the side in order in the seventh for the second time on the evening and recorded the first out in the eighth on a routine grounder to short before issuing a free pass to his final batter. That led to the third UTSA run, but the Big Green bullpen preserved O'Connor's 10th career victory.

Patel (0-2) was an escape artist for much of his six-plus innings as he surrendered all 14 Dartmouth hits, walked three and hit a batter to go with six strikeouts. But only four runs materialized from those 18 base runners as the Green stranded 13 runners on the night.

The two teams will continue their four-game series with a doubleheader tomorrow starting at 1:30 p.m. (2:30 p.m. Eastern).

Notes: This was Dartmouth's first victory inside the state of Texas since 1988 … the Big Green are now 14-16 in season openers under head coach Bob Whalen, now in his 30th season at the helm … this was the first meeting between the two schools on the diamond … eight of the nine starters in the Dartmouth lineup had at least one hit.