Dartmouth Heads to Virginia for Three-Game Series

Friday, February 28

Charlottesville, Va. / Davenport Field at Disharoon Park

3:00 PM

Dartmouth College

Virginia

Kade Kretzschmar is greeted by teammates.

Photo by: Mike Janes/Four Seam Images

Dartmouth Heads to Virginia for Three-Game Series

2/27/2020 5:58:00 PM | Baseball

Dartmouth Notes ACCNX Broadcast (Friday)ACCNX Broadcast (Saturday)ACCNX Broadcast (Sunday)Audio Broadcast Live Stats Davenport Field at Disharoon Park

This is the first meeting on the diamond between the two schools in a decade.

By: Rick Bender

DARTMOUTH (2-2)
at VIRGINIA (6-3)
Friday-Sunday, Feb. 28-March 1, 2020 | ACCNX
Davenport Field at Disharoon Park | Charlottesville, Va.

Look Back at Last Weekend
• Dartmouth began its 148th season of varsity baseball by splitting four games at the Snowbird Classic in Florida.
• The Big Green dropped the season opener to Indiana State in a classic pitchers' duel as the Sycamores hit a two-out, solo home run off the right-field foul pole in the seventh for the game's only run.
• Dartmouth is now 14-17 in the first game of the season under head coach Bob Whalen, who is in his 31st season at the helm with a 602-588-3 record.
• The following day, Dartmouth split a doubleheader with Chicago State, winning the first game, 6-2, as Trystan Sarcone twirled five innings of one-run relief while striking out a career-high eight batters to earn his first collegiate win.
• Nathan Skinner combined with Sarcone to strike out 14 Cougars, the most in one game by Big Green pitchers since fanning 14 against Fairleigh Dickinson last year on March 2.
• Ubaldo Lopez went 3-for-4 with two doubles to lead the offense against Chicago State
• In the nightcap, the game was scoreless until the Cougars broke through for a run in the sixth in an eventual 3-0 defeat of the Green.
• Justin Murray dazzled on the mound in the final game, hurling seven shutout stanzas on three hits and two walks with six strikeouts as Dartmouth defeated Omaha, 8-1.
• The Big Green bats produced 14 hits against the Mavericks — three from Blake Crossing — while Kade Kretzschmar and Kolton Freeman each drove in a pair of runs.
• The staff ERA after the four games is a stellar 1.85 (seven earned runs in 34 innings).
• Lopez and Murray were named the Ivy League Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, with Lopez hitting .385 (5-for-13) with three doubles, three runs and two RBIs.
• Four players made their collegiate debuts over the weekend. Freeman started all four games in left field and Connor Bertsch got the nod at third twice. On the mound, Jack Metzger tossed 1.1 scoreless innings in the opener, and Luke Carpenter allowed a run in one-plus innings against Omaha.

Overall Record vs. Virginia
• Dartmouth is 5-12 all-time against the Cavaliers in a series that dates back to 1891.
• Only two of the 17 games between the two schools have been played in the last 70 years, those coming in 2010 when Virginia was ranked first in the country and handed the Big Green losses by scores of 14-3 and 11-5.
• Against current ACC teams, Dartmouth sports a 60-121-1 all-time record with most of the games coming against Boston College (30-40) and N.C. State (11-41-1). Not included in that overall record are 10 games against Syracuse (5-5), which no longer has a baseball program.

Scouting the Cavaliers
• Virginia enters this series with a record of 6-3, dropping two of three to nationally ranked Oklahoma and winning three of four from Bucknell.
• On Tuesday, the Cavaliers bested William & Mary, 8-5, thanks to a four-run fifth that ended the scoring on the afternoon.
• The offense has a slash line of .254/.388/.394 while averaging seven runs a game.
• Zack Gelof (.323/.488/.645) has been a menace in the third spot in the lineup with a pair of home runs, but Chris Newell (.348/.571/.522) has been an on-base machine at the bottom of the order and Christian Hlinka (3 HR in 13 plate appearances) has mashed in part-time duty.
• The pitching staff boasts a solid 3.33 ERA with opponents hitting just .232, but one third of the 45 runs scored against Virginia this season have been unearned due to 17 errors.

Probable Starting Pitchers
• The first game will feature Dartmouth RHP Austen Michel (0-1, 1.35) against Cavalier RHP Griff McGarry (2-0, 1.80). Michel was the tough-luck loser in the opener due to one mistake, a solo homer with two outs in the seventh, but allowed just three hits and a walk with five strikeouts in his 6.2 innings. McGarry threw five shutout innings against the Sooners and five two-run innings against Bucknell, striking out seven in each start, to earn his two victories.
• The Big Green will hand the ball to RHP Nathan Skinner (0-0, 2.25), who is coming off a four-inning start in the 6-2 win over Chicago State in which he gave up one run and struck out six. Virginia will counter with RHP Mike Vasil (1-0, 1.80), who whiffed 10 Bucknell batters in six innings in his most recent outing.
• For the finale, RHP Justin Murray (1-0, 0.00) will climb the hill for Dartmouth after shutting out Omaha last Sunday for seven innings on three hits to go with six strikeouts, earning Ivy League Pitcher of the Week honors. The Cavaliers will throw one of two pitchers: either LHP Nate Savino (0-0, 6.75) or RHP Chesdin Harrington (0-2, 8.53).

Last Time Against the Cavaliers
It has been a decade since these two teams met on the diamond, but it feels just like yesterday … trauma can be like that.

In the first of two games, Dartmouth jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first, but Virginia countered with six in the second and eight more in the fourth to account for all of its scoring in a 14-3 victory. Robert Morey earned the win for his six innings of work, allowing two runs and striking out three. Current big leaguer Phil Gosselin led the 16-hit attack with four singles and scored twice. Jake Carlson had two of the Big Green's eight hits and Ennis Coble scored two of the three runs.

Dartmouth got off to an even better start in the second contest with three in the first and another run in the third to take an early 4-0 lead. But starting with the bottom of the third, Virginia scored in six straight innings to win the game, 11-5. The Cavalier bullpen tossed 5.1 innings of one-run ball with another future major leaguer, Tyler Wilson, getting the W. Gosselin cracked four hits again while Keith Werman and Kenny Swab each drove in three runs. Carlson rapped out three of the Big Green's 10 hits, and Jim Wren and Jeff Onstott each had two RBIs.

What's Up Next
Dartmouth has nearly two weeks off for winter exams before taking the field again at the RussMatt Invitational in Florida on March 14. The first four games there will be against Hofstra, followed by a game against Bradley before wrapping up the trip at Bethune-Cookman on March 18.

Ivy Awards for the Big Green
Last weekend marked the first games of the season for four Ivy League teams, and Dartmouth emerged with the best record of the bunch. It is no surprise that the Big Green did well with the league's weekly awards with junior Ubaldo Lopez being named the Ivy Player of the Week and Justin Murray the Pitcher of the Week. Lopez went 5-for-13 in the four games with three doubles and two RBIS. All five hits came in the victories over Chicago State and Omaha. Murray, who started the first three games of the weekend in the field, was terrific in his start on the mound, hurling seven shutout innings with six strikeouts in an 8-1 win over the Mavericks. Dartmouth had not had a member of the team win either award since the 2018 campaign.

Pitching Turnaround
Last year, the Big Green pitching staff struggled with injuries and youth, finishing the season with an ERA of 7.04, its highest in a dozen years and third highest in the last 50 seasons. But if the opening weekend is any indication on how this season will turn out, Dartmouth can look forward to some stellar mound work. the pitchers posted a 1.85 ERA over the first four games, not once surrendering more than three in a game. And the four starters tossed 23.1 innings while giving up just three runs.

Two-Way Murray
Sophomore Justin Murray has started the season as a true two-way player for head coach Bob Whalen, starting twice at third base, another at second and the most recent game on the mound. He did both jobs quite well, making 12 plays in the field without an error, hitting .273 with a pair of doubles and walks, not to mention the seven shutout innings to beat Omaha. The last true two-way player at Dartmouth was Mark Johnson '90, who played first base and pitched in Whalen's first season at the helm. Coincidentally, Johnson's son, Trevor, is a senior on the team now. But there is another player on the roster who could be considered a two-way player in Blake Crossing. It remains to be seen how much he pitches, but Whalen has given every indication he will see significant time out of the bullpen.

Debuts!
Four freshmen saw the field during the first weekend of play, two position players — Connor Bertsch and Kolton Freeman — and two pitchers — Luke Carpenter and Jack Metzger. Each of the position players had at least two hits, while the two pitchers managed to record their first collegiate strikeout in an inning of work apiece.

Preseason Polls
For the first time in over a decade, the preseason polls did not list Dartmouth at or near the top of the league standings. The Big Green had advanced to the Ivy League Championship Series in eight straight years (2008-15) but has missed out the past four years. D1Baseball.com is the highest on Dartmouth, pegging the Green for fourth place, while Baseball America was less optimistic, putting them sixth. And the Ivy League media? They split the difference:

2020 Ivy League Baseball Preseason Media Poll
Team (first-place votes)	Points
1. Penn (10)	119
2. Harvard (4)	107
3. Columbia (2)	100
4. Yale	84
5. Dartmouth	61
6. Brown	41
7. Princeton	38
8. Cornell	26

Big Green Are Road Warriors …
As is custom for Dartmouth, it will begin the season on the road for an extended period. The first 16 games are scheduled to be played away from Hanover with the home opener slated for March 25 (the earliest ever) when the Big Green host Quinnipiac. Only 12 of the 39 games on the schedule will take place on their home field.

… But Love the Homestead
Dartmouth enters the 2020 season with a 110-45 record (.710) at its home venue, Red Rolfe Field at Biondi Park, in the 11 seasons since the stadium was constructed and turf was added before the 2009 campaign. But last year was the first with a losing record on the home turf for the Big Green at 3-11, something they don't expect to repeat in 2020.

2019 All-Ivy Honors for the Green
Of the four players that received recognition as All-Ivy League players from the conference coaches, only one returns this spring — junior reliever Max Hunter who received honorable mention. Gone are two first-teamers in 3B Steffen Torgersen (.344/.438/.477) and 2B Sean Sullivan (.301/.395/.338), as well as second-team OF Matt Feinstein (.321/.383/.524).
During head coach Bob Whalen's first 30 years at the helm, he has coached 77 first-teamers, 18 more than any other program in the Ivy League. And since 2000, he has 56 of them to his credit, 15 ahead of any other Ancient Eight squad.

Co-Captains
For the third straight year, Dartmouth will feature co-captains this spring with senior infielder Blake Crossing and senior right-hander Austen Michel sharing the duties.

Big League Bloodlines
Over the past decade-plus, Dartmouth has had five players that had a father with big league ties. First was first baseman Mike Pagliarulo '09 whose father of the same name manned the hot corner with the Yankees, Padres, Twins, Orioles and Rangers over 11 seasons (1984-93, '95), hitting 134 homers in his career.

Then came catcher Chris O'Dowd '13, son of Dan O'Dowd who served as the general manager for the Colorado Rockies for 15 years through 2014.

Next up was right-hander Adam Charnin-Aker '16, whose father Jack Aker pitched in the big leagues for 11 years (1964-74) with the Kansas City (then Oakland) Athletics, Seattle Pilots, Yankees, Cubs, Braves and Mets, going 47-45 with a 3.28 ERA and 124 saves in 495 appearances.

Then there was catcher Bennett McCaskill '21, who played for Dartmouth for two years before retiring after last season due to health issues. His father, Kirk, not only coached him in high school, but also pitched for 12 seasons in the majors, winning 106 games while posting a 4.12 ERA for the Angels and White Sox (1985-96).

The current team features senior center fielder Trevor Johnson, the son of former Big Green first baseman/pitcher/quarterback Mark Johnson '90, who enjoyed a seven-year stay in the bigs with the Pirates, Angels and Mets (1995-2002), hitting .232 with 38 homers.

Not Settling for Spares
Well, this isn't bowling, but if there is one thing the Big Green pitching staff does, it is throw strikes. For the past decade-plus, the staff has been one of the stingiest in the country in terms of issuing free passes. In both 2009 and 2010, the Big Green hurlers walked fewer batters per nine innings than any other Division I team. In each of the next three years, they ranked among the top 15, placing third in 2011 at 2.24 behind only Florida (1.82) and Dayton (2.18), eighth in 2012 at 2.33, and 13th in 2013 at 2.52. After two years in the top 50 at fewer than three per game, the Big Green were back near the top in 2016 (11th, 2.66), 2017 (9th, 2.63) and 2018 (6th, 2.75) before falling all the way to 61st last year (3.63). The early returns are good this year at 3.44 per nine, but the starting rotation has combined to issue just four walks in 23.2 innings (1.52).

MLB Watch
In the summer of 2014, Kyle Hendricks '12 made his MLB debut with the Chicago Cubs and finished his rookie year with a 7-2 record over 13 starts with a 2.46 ERA. Six years later he is an established big leaguer who led both leagues with an ERA of 2.13 in 2016, finishing third in the Cy Young balloting and helping the Cubs win their first World Series in 108 years. In six seasons in Chicago, Hendricks boasts a 63-43 record with an ERA of 3.14 while striking out 7.6 batters per nine innings.

Cole Sulser '12 made his MLB debut last September as a call-up with the Tampa Bay Rays. In seven outings, he threw 7.1 innings without allowing a run on five hits and three walks while striking out nine. He is in big league camp with the Orioles this spring.

Dartmouth also has five other former pitchers toiling in the minors:

•   LHP Mitch Horacek '13 (AA and AAA with the Rockies last year, signed with the Twins this year)
•   RHP Duncan Robinson '16 (AAA with the Cubs)
•   RHP Beau Sulser '16 (AA ball with the Pirates)
•   RHP Michael Danielak '16 (A ball with the A's)
•   RHP Clay Chatham '18 (A ball with the Angels)

GM Job
The Big Green aren't simply represented at the major league level by Hendricks and Sulser. The National League East is home to a Dartmouth alumnus as well — Matt Klentak '02, beginning his fourth season as the general manager for the Philadelphia Phillies. A shortstop who hit .246 in over 400 plate appearances, Klentak has the Phillies as one of the up-and-coming teams in the big leagues.