First Two Homers of Season Not Enough in Rubber Match at Louisville

Sunday, February 27

Louisville, Ky. / Jim Patterson Stadium

12:00 PM

Dartmouth College

1-2

Louisville

4-3

Dartmouth

Louisville

Nathan Cmeyla is greeted by his teammates after hitting his first career home run.

Photo by: Jermaine Bibb

First Two Homers of Season Not Enough in Rubber Match at Louisville

2/27/2022 3:29:00 PM | Baseball

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Connor Bertsch and Nathan Cmeyla both hit four-baggers, but the Cardinals handed the Big Green a 16-3 defeat

By: Rick Bender

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Junior Connor Bertsch and sophomore Nathan Cmeyla had five of Dartmouth's six hits as both bashed their first career home runs on Sunday afternoon at Jim Patterson Stadium, but host Louisville (4-3) built up an early lead over the Big Green (1-2) and never looked back in a 16-3 victory to win the three-game series. Ben Bianco collected five hits and scored four times for the Cardinals while Ben Metzinger was a single shy of the cycle and drove in five runs.

It was Metzinger that started the scoring in the bottom of the first, slashing an RBI triple into the right-field corner and scoring when the relay throw was wild for an early 2-0 lead. In the second, Louisville roughed up Dartmouth starter Trystan Sarcone for five more runs, capped by a Metzinger three-run homer to center. Junior Jack Metzger relieved with two on and one out, and managed to escape without any further damage on a fly to right and a called third strike.

A Bianco double and a wild pitch were responsible for the Cardinals' solitary marker in the third, giving the hosts an 8-0 lead. Louisville lefty Riley Phillips, meanwhile, put goose eggs on the board through the first four frames, allowing just three singles. But after retiring his eighth batter in a row to start the fifth, Bertsch got a hold of a 1-0 fastball and launched it over the fence in left for a solo homer.

Another Bianco double in the bottom half keyed two more Cardinal runs, and an error extended the sixth that saw Louisville plate four more on triples by Bianco and Noah Smith and an RBI double off Metzinger's bat.

Junior Peter O'Toole led off the top of the seventh with a walk, and Cmeyla followed by getting all of a 2-0 pitch down Broadway for a two-run shot to left. Bertsch followed with a single to make it a perfect 3-for-3 on the afternoon, but that would be all Dartmouth could muster against reliever Will Koger.

Louisville got those two runs back with solo markers in the seventh and eighth innings to complete the scoring.

Phillips (1-0) earned the victory with his five-inning start, yielding one run on four hits without a walk while fanning five.

Sarcone (0-1) suffered the loss for allowing seven runs in 1.1 innings, and Louisville reached base 28 times on 17 hits, eight walks and three hit batsmen.

Dartmouth will next play a four-game series at Gardner-Webb in Boiling Springs, North Carolina, starting on Friday afternoon at 4 p.m., followed by a noon doubleheader on Saturday and the final game on Sunday at noon as well. All four games will be streamed live on ESPN+.