This Day in Dartmouth History: April 10

April 10, 2011 — Baseball sweeps doubleheader with Princeton; first game features pitching matchup of future big leaguers

When Dartmouth welcomed Princeton to Red Rolfe Field at Biondi Park on this day nine years ago, the Big Green had won their last 13 home games. And after defeating the Tigers in both ends of the twinbill, they would win 13 more before their 28-game home winning streak ended, the second-longest in program history.

Coming off a doubleheader sweep of Cornell the previous day, head coach Bob Whalen sent future Chicago Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks '12 to the mound to start the opener against Princeton right-hander and future New York Yankee first baseman Mike Ford, who would also go on to be the Ivy League Rookie of the Year at the end of the season. The two battled to a 2-2 tie through seven innings with Ford helping his own cause with a solo homer in the second.

Hendricks retired the first two batters in the eighth (the second being his seventh strikeout of the afternoon), but Ford hit the first of three straight singles and scored the go-ahead run. Then with one down in the bottom half, senior Sam Bean '11 stroked a single and scored when classmate Jason Brooks '12 poked a two-out single to right that skipped past the right fielder for a crucial error.

Both pitchers exited in the ninth just shy of 120 pitches with sophomore southpaw Michael Johnson '13 starting the inning and allowing only a two-out single. Ford, meanwhile, lasted until two were gone before departing with two runners on base. Tiger reliever David Palms escaped the jam, but wildness was his undoing in the 10th as he walked the bases loaded before senior Jeff Onstott '11 rapped a walk-off single for the 4-3 win.

In the nightcap, Brooks, sophomore Ennis Coble '13 and junior David Turnbull '12 all produced RBI singles for a 3-0 lead in the first and the Big Green cruised to a 5-2 win. Rookie left-hander Mitch Horacek '14 (currently in the Minnesota Twins organization) tossed six innings of one-run ball for the victory and senior Ryan Smith '11 — the winner in game one — got the final two outs for the save as Dartmouth improved to 17-6 on the season and 6-2 in league play.