Baseball Ends Season on Wild Walk-Off Winner in Extra Innings

Saturday, May 14

Hanover, N.H.

3:00 PM

Dartmouth College

23-19, 13-7

Columbia

27-14, 17-3

Columbia

Dartmouth

Peter O’Toole's walk-off single was his fourth hit of the season.

Photo by: Willis Glassgow

Baseball Ends Season on Wild Walk-Off Winner in Extra Innings

5/15/2022 4:32:00 PM | Baseball

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Dartmouth denied Columbia winning the Ivy regular-season title outright without some help

By: Rick Bender

HANOVER, N.H. — If the rights to the final game of Dartmouth's 2022 baseball season were purchased by Netflix, it would almost assuredly be turned into a limited mini-series event with all of the twists and turns that took place in the contest. The 10-inning game certainly was long enough to warrant one.

With Columbia needing a win to secure the conference title outright and earn hosting rights for the Ivy Championship Series next weekend, the Lions built up a 10-4 lead entering the bottom of the eighth. But the Big Green would not roll over on their home field for the Lions, tying the score to force extra innings before junior Peter O'Toole — with just three hits to his name all season — lined a walk-off single in the 10th after Columbia had regained the lead in the top half, ending the four-hour, eight-minute marathon in Dartmouth's favor, 12-11.

"I don't even know what to say after a game like that," Big Green head coach Bob Whalen said. "You go back and think about the fact that we didn't play a game for essentially two years. This team has been through a lot, and that is probably why they're such a close-knit group. All I can say about ending the season with a win like this is that the entire coaching staff could not more proud of this team."

The epic comeback came after the two teams began play at 10 a.m. in order to finish the final five frames of a suspended game from yesterday, which the Lions won by a final of 6-4. Dartmouth ends the season with a 24-19 overall record and 14-7 mark in the Ivy League to finish third despite winning six of their seven conference series during the year.

Columbia now owns a record of 27-15, 17-4 in the league, with the victory earlier in the day clinching a share of the Ivy League crown. But because Penn defeated Princeton three times today (the first also a resumed suspended game) to climb into a first-place tie, the Quakers claimed a share of the title while also securing hosting rights for the ICS by virtue of taking two of three from the Lions back in March.

But back to the main event that played out at Red Rolfe Field at Biondi Park today. Facing that six-run deficit in the eighth, Big Green senior Kade Kretzschmar greeted reliever Brandon Madrigal with a clean single back through the box, and freshman Jackson Hower — Dartmouth's third left fielder of the game precipitated by an injury to junior Kolton Freeman back in the second inning — beat out an infield single to deep short. Madrigal got the first out on strikes, but then plunked junior Connor Bertsch to load the bases. Sophomore Max Zajec rifled a ball through the infield to right, plating two runs, and senior Bryce Daniel fought off a pitch, dropping it down the right-field line for an RBI single. And when sophomore Tyler Cox hustled down the line to beat the rap on a potential inning-ending double play, a fourth run crossed the plate, closing the gap to two at 10-8.

In the top of the ninth, Whalen summoned his ninth pitcher of the contest, freshman Matt Carey, to the mound for just his fourth appearance of the season. The rookie right-hander quickly retired the Lions in order, keeping the Big Green in striking range.

The bottom half did not start terribly well for Dartmouth as the three-hole hitter, senior first baseman Justin Murray, was called out on a strikes and ejected for voicing his opinion on the matter a little too strenuously. But Kretzschmar got things going once again, this time with a solid, one-out double to the gap in right-center off of Derek Yoo, who started the inning looking for his first save. After a tapper to first pushed the Big Green to the brink, sophomore Nathan Cmeyla shocked the 288 fans and the Columbia dugout by belting a full-count pitch just over the fence in right-center for an opposite-field, game-tying, two-run blast, his fourth home run of the season.

With few options remaining in the bullpen, Carey remained in the game to start the 10th and surrendered a lead-off single. Out came Whalen from the dugout to call upon senior Trystan Sarcone, the starter of yesterday's suspended game. The southpaw got the first two outs on a popup and a grounder to second, putting the go-ahead run in scoring position. But Cole Hage fought off a 0-1 slider and lined it just over the outstretched glove of Daniel at second base into right-center for an RBI single and an 11-10 lead.

Yoo (2-2) returned in the 10th to try and close out a Lion victory for the second time, but he sabotaged himself by issuing a four-pitch walk to Zajec to start the stanza. Daniel sacrificed him to second, nearly beating out the bunt back to Yoo, and Cox — unaware that he needed a hit to boost his season average above .400 — lined a single to right. Third-base coach Mike Odenwaelder didn't hesitate in sending freshman Elliot Krewson, pinch running for Zajec, and the throw to the plate was up the first-base line, allowing the rookie to score easily, tying the game at 11.

Dartmouth smelled the blood in the water as sophomore Tyler Robinson lined a single to right to put the winning run at second base. That brought up Murray's spot in the lineup that was filled by O'Toole in the top half. Following a conference on the mound with the pitching coach, the left-handed hitter feasted on a first-pitch fastball and lined it into the right-center gap, sending Cox streaking around third and across the plate for the walk-off winner.

Sarcone (6-4), who suffered the loss in the suspended game, earned the win in his only relief appearance of the year, giving him the team lead in victories. He was the Big Green's 10th pitcher of the game.

Dartmouth had 17 hits in the contest, more than half of which came in the final three innings, with Cox and Kretzschmar leading the way with three apiece. Four players had two RBIs, none more dramatic that Cmeyla's two-run bomb in the ninth.

Columbia finished with 16 hits of its own as five players collected two apiece while Andy Blake and Austin Mowrey both supplied solo homers.

Earlier in the day, the Lions held a 5-3 lead when play resumed in the game that was suspended by lightning on Saturday at the start of the top of the fifth. Skye Selinsky provided a one-out RBI double to boost the Columbia advantage to three runs, but senior reliever Cole Roland settled down and got a strikeout and a popup to strand runners on second and third.

The Lions turned to scheduled game three starter, Sean Higgins, to hold the lead, and he began with three scoreless innings of relief, surrendering just two harmless singles. The Big Green managed to scratch out a run in the eighth on a Kretzschmar double and Freeman RBI single, but Higgins induced a double play to end the inning.

Bertsch gave Dartmouth hope in the ninth with a leadoff single, but Higgins (4-3) retired the next three batters on four pitches to suddenly end the game.

Hage led the Columbia offense with four hits, including three doubles, scoring twice and driving in one. The big blow for the Big Green came in the form of a two-run homer by Cmeyla in the fourth, shortly before lightning got a little too close for comfort.

But anyone that was at Biondi Park on this day will only remember the fantastic finish and raucous celebration by the Big Green as they chased a shirtless O'Toole all the way into left field, showering him with water before forming a dogpile.

Notes: Cox finished the season with a .402 average, the first Big Green hitter to top .400 in a season since former big leaguer Ed Lucas '04 hit .405 in 2004 … both teams had 11 players produce at least one hit … Kretzschmar finished the season with 106 total bases, third most in program history and the most in 14 years … Cox (.464) and Kretzschmar (.405) were the only two Ivy Leaguers to top .400 in league play … the Big Green had a number of league leaders in conference games only: average (Cox, .464), hits (Cox, 45), runs (Kretzschmar, 29), triples (Robinson, 5), on-base percentage (Cox, .514), pitching appearances (Jack Metzger, 10) and saves (Metzger, 5) … the Big Green pitching staff ended the year with a program-record 319 strikeouts, shattering the previous mark of 297 set in 2016.