Going to Carolina for Four Games at USA Baseball Complex

Friday, March 3

Cary, N.C. / USA Baseball Complex

2:00 PM

Dartmouth College

Wagner

The team huddles before playing at No. 22 Miami, Feb. 26, 2023

Photo by: Richard C. Lewis

Going to Carolina for Four Games at USA Baseball Complex

3/2/2023 3:20:00 PM | Baseball

Live Video Live Stats vs. Wagner Friday Live Stats vs. Holy Cross Live Stats vs. Penn State Live Stats vs. Wagner Sunday Dartmouth Notes Penn State Notes

Dartmouth will take on Wagner twice, Penn State and Holy Cross

By: Rick Bender

DARTMOUTH (0-3) vs. WAGNER (3-3),
HOLY CROSS (1-7) and PENN STATE (4-2)
March 3-5, 2023 • USA Baseball Complex • Cary, N.C.

Searching for First Victory of 2023
Dartmouth faced a difficult task in its opening weekend with three games at 22nd-ranked Miami and came away empty-handed with losses of 9-7, 6-0 and 20-2. But this is baseball, and the opportunity to get back in the saddle is always right around the corner.
The Big Green will play four games this weekend at the USA Baseball Complex in Cary, North Carolina, starting with Wagner on Friday at 2 p.m. On Saturday, Dartmouth will play twice, first against familiar opponent Holy Cross followed by Penn State. The weekend will conclude with another contest with Wagner on Sunday.

Catch the Games
All four games at the USA Baseball Complex in North Carolina will be available to watch live online for free on the USABaseball.tv website. Simply create an account and the games will be available for viewing. Fans can also follow along via live stats. Links to each game are available in the resources box.

Last Week in Review
• Dartmouth was swept in a series of three games or more for the first time since dropping three against another ACC opponent, Virginia, in the final games before the pandemic canceled the remainder of the 2020 season.
• The Big Green gave Miami a bit of a scare in the opener, jumping out to an early 4-0 lead before threatening to erase a five-run deficit in the ninth before coming up short in a 9-7 loss.
• Dartmouth also out-hit the Hurricanes in the opener, 11-8; the Green only lost one game all last season when collecting more hits.
• Nathan Cmeyla drove in a career-high four runs in the opener while Tyler Cox picked up right where he left off after hitting .402 last year with three hits and a walk, scoring twice.
• Earl Weaver was smiling down on the Hurricanes as Miami belted a pair of three-run homers in the opener, and five of its seven round-trippers in the series were three-run jobs.
• Sophomore southpaws Danny Will and Jeff Lee performed well out of the bullpen as Will struck out five and allowed just one run in 2.2 innings and Lee tossed two scoreless stanzas.
• No fewer than six players made their collegiate debuts, including rookie Milo Suarez who hit a solo homer in just his second career at-bat.
• Suarez earned a spot on the Ivy League honor roll for the week, as did Cmeyla who was 4-for-12 (.333) with two doubles and four RBIs at the plate while fielding flawlessly behind it and throwing out a would-be base stealer.

Overall Record vs. the Three Opponents
• Dartmouth will be playing Wagner for the first time in program history.
• In a stark contrast, Holy Cross is the Big Green's most-played foe outside of the Ivy League having gone 55-94-1 (150 games) all-time against the Crusaders.
• Holy Cross won the most recent showdown, beating the Green in Hanover last year, 3-1.
• While Dartmouth has gone up against the Nittany Lions previously, it has been over 100 years since they last met on the diamond (1915).
• All four games were played between 1911-15, and the Big Green's lone win was a 4-2 decision on May 26, 1911.

Scouting the Seahawks
• Wagner began the season by dropping three games at N.C. State, but it rebounded last weekend with a three-game road sweep at Radford while outscoring the Highlanders, 32-12.
• Those 32 runs came on the heels of scoring just three against the Wolfpack, with the bats hitting a combined .265/.335/.377.
• Catcher David Melfi leads the offense with two of the Seahawks' three homers, seven RBIs and four walks while hitting .350/.458/.750.
• Control has been an issue for the staff that has posted a 6.18 ERA, walking nearly as many hitters (39) and it has struck out (40).
• The staff ace is Julian Taudin-Chabot with a 2.08 ERA while allowing opponents to hit .143.
• The defense has been Wagner's strongest asset with just three errors in the first six games for a .981 fielding percentage.
• Wagner is coached by Craig Noto (John Jay), who is 20-37 in his second season as head coach.

Scouting the Crusaders
• Holy Cross enters the weekend with a record of 1-7, losing three of four to Purdue in Texas before coming up short all four games at VMI.
• The bats have put up similar numbers as Wagner with a line of .261/.365/.379 and three home runs, one apiece for Chris Benton, C.J. Egrie and Jack Toomey, the reigning Patriot League Rookie of the Week.
• The pitchers have gotten knocked around to the tune of a 10.86 ERA with opponents hitting .385 and 15 home runs.
• Luke Fox owns the only victory thanks to a scheduled short start and an early lead.
• The gloves have been problematic with 16 errors in the eight games (.939 fielding percentage) while allowing 31 stolen bases in 38 attempts.
• The head coach of Holy Cross is Ed Kahovec (Rochester '94), who is 33-74 in three-plus seasons guiding the program.

Scouting the Nittany Lions
• Penn State is off to a solid start at 4-2, beating Miami in its season opener before taking two from Northern Illinois and an 11-3 decision over Monmouth.
• As a team, the Nittany Lions are hitting .294/.378/.408 with four round-trippers while averaging six runs a game.
• Thomas Bramley has been the most potent hitter at .333/.500/.571, while seven players have at least four RBIs in a balanced lineup.
• Opponents are hitting just .234 against this pitching staff that sports a 3.93 ERA and nearly a strikeout per inning (48 in 52.2 IP).
• All three starters on the mound have an ERA no worse than 3.50, led by big RHP Travis Luensmann at 1.80 over 10.0 innings.
• The defense has been good with a .972 fielding percentage while throwing out three of the five runners who have attempted to steal.
• Penn State is led by head coach Rob Cooper (Miami '94), now in his 10th season at the helm with a record of 177-247.

Probable Big Green Starting Pitchers
• Fifth-year senior LHP Trystan Sarcone (0-1, 12.46) will open the weekend against Wagner. He was victimized by the three-run homer — twice — in his opening-day start that ended in a 9-7 loss. The good news for Big Green fans is that he had a rough outing last year in his first start, then posted an ERA of 3.88 the rest of the year.
• Getting the nod versus Holy Cross will be senior RHP Jack Metzger (0-1, 7.20), who struck out six batters without a walk in his first career start. He, too, served up a three-run blast but looked strong over his five innings and 87 pitches.
• Climbing the bump versus Penn State will be … yeah, I don't know. Too many variables to surmise that quite yet.
• Wrapping up the weekend for the second game against Wagner will be rookie RHP Eddie Albert (0-1, 18.00). Albert pitched well in his first two frames at Miami but was unable to record an out the second time through the lineup before exiting.

What's Up Next
Final exams! With Dartmouth on the quarter system, next week brings the start of final exams for the winter quarter, so no baseball next week. The Big Green will do the clichéd thing and head to Florida for spring break with seven games scheduled against USF (two), UCF (three) and Jacksonville (two).

Tough Start
For the first time since 2018, Dartmouth has started a season with three consecutive losses. But considering that those three defeats were to perennial national power Miami this year and another perennial national power, Georgia Tech, five years ago, the slow start is understandable. Last year, the Big Green allowed even more runs (39) in a three-game series against yet another national power, Louisville, than they did this year (35) but still managed to come away with a victory.

Suave Suarez
Launching your first collegiate home run is a moment hitters never forget, and freshman Milo Suarez made his memorable by doing so in his own backyard. In just his second career at-bat, the rookie deposited a pitch over the fence in left field on Feb. 26 at 22nd-ranked Miami, fewer than three miles from where he went to high school at Gulliver Prep. He is the first Big Green player to hit a home run in his second career at-bat since Jason Brooks '11 went yard against Navy back in 2008.

Cox Steering the Ship
A little rowing humor for you there. Junior Tyler Cox was 10th in the nation last year with a .402 average and reached base in each of his last 31 contests. In the season opener, he just picked up where he left off, banging out three singles and drawing a walk. He extended his streak of reaching base safely to 33 the next day but had it snapped in the finale with an 0-for-3 performance. It was the longest such streak since Mike Conway '99 had a 34-gamer back in 1997-98. Through three games, Cox is hittting .364.

Cmeyla Cmacking the Ball
Head coach Bob Whalen put his faith in catcher Nathan Cmeyla, slotting him in the third spot in the batting order, and the junior came through on opening day, driving in a career four runs on a two-run single and and a two-run double in the 9-7 loss. Cmeyla was the only player to hit safely in all three games at Miami and enters this weekend at .333 (4-for-12) with a .500 slugging percentage.

Soothing Southpaws
While the pitching had their difficulties with the potent Miami lineup, a pair of sophomore left-handed relievers had a bit of success. Danny Will and Jeff Lee both pitched twice, combining for a 1.93 ERA. Will did a masterful job on Sunday, entering with runners on the corners and nobody out, stranding both as he struck out the side. Lee pitched a scoreless eighth inning on both Saturday and Sunday, striking out a pair in his second outing.