Dartmouth Falters in Final Games at Columbia

Saturday, April 22

New York, N.Y. / Robertson Field

3:00 PM

Dartmouth College

1-30, 0-14

Columbia

21-13, 10-4

Dartmouth

Columbia

Connor Bertsch had the Big Green’s first five-hit game in six years

Photo by: Mike Janes

4/23/2023 6:11:00 PM | Baseball

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A loss in 12 innings of yesterday's suspended game was followed by an 8-2 defeat

By: Rick Bender

NEW YORK, N.Y. — The Dartmouth baseball team finished the final two games of its three-game Ivy League series at Columbia, losing a heartbreaker in the resumption of yesterday's suspended game, 14-13 in 12 innings, before being dealt an 8-2 defeat in the finale as the Lions (22-13, 11-4 Ivy) completed the sweep of the Big Green (1-31, 0-15 Ivy).

Dartmouth had an opportunity to win the game that was suspended after the Big Green scored five in the ninth to tie the game at 11 and kept Columbia off the board in the bottom half. A walk and Connor Bertsch double to start the 10th put runners in scoring position with nobody out, and Tyler Robinson delivered a ringing RBI single to center. Kolton Freeman provided an insurance run on a grounder to short, beating the throw to first on the attempted double play, which allowed Bertsch to cross the plate.

But in the bottom half, Columbia loaded the bases on a pair of walks and a one-out hit batter. Another walk with one down forced in a run, and Weston Eberly blooped a single in front of Freeman in right to tie the game. Dartmouth southpaw Devin Milberg (0-2) was able to send the game into the 11th, however, by inducing an infield pop and a routine fly to left.

The game came to an end in the 12th after a pair of leadoff walks and a sacrifice bunt set the table for Weston Eberly, who hit a deep fly to right that easily scored the game-winning run for a walk-off sacrifice fly.

Brandon Madrigal (2-1) tossed shutout ball in the 11th and 12th to earn the win for Columbia. Cole Hage had four of the Lions' 14 hits in the contest, while Griffin Palfrey and Anton Lazits each homered while driving in seven runs between them.

Bertsch had a career-high five hits in the game — the first Big Green batter in six years with a five-hit game — as Dartmouth collected a season-high 18 hits but left 15 men on base. Freeman joined Bertsch and Robinson with three runs scored and matched Elliot Krewson with three RBIs.

In the final game of the series, Dartmouth jumped out to a 1-0 lead when James House walked with the bases loaded in the top of the first, but Bertsch was retired on a grounder to third to end the threat with just the one run scoring.

Right-hander Clark Gilmore handcuffed the Lions for the first four frames, surrendering just two hits and a hit batter and facing the minimum in the second, third and fourth frames after escaping a bases-loaded jam in the first. But his control escaped him in the fifth as the Lions loaded the bases again on a walk, infield hit and hit batter with one out. A passed ball brought home the tying run, and following another walk, Gilmore (1-4) was lifted in favor of left-hander Danny Will, who was touched for a sacrifice fly off the bat of Hayden Schott. Eberly gave the Lions a little breathing room with an RBI double to give Columbia a 3-1 lead.

The Lions added five more in the sixth, capped by back-to-back doubles by Andy Blake and Schott that plated three.

Dartmouth repeated its first-inning formula in the eighth, scoring its other run on another bases-loaded walk to House.

Eberly paced the 12-hit Columbia attack by going 4-for-5 and was one of three Lions with two RBIs. Krewson was 3-for-5 for the Big Green and scored both runs.

Dartmouth, which has suffered a program-record 24 consecutive losses, will attempt to break the spell it is under at Holy Cross on Tuesday when the two teams meet at Fitton Field at 5 p.m. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with live stats available through DartmouthSports.com, the official website of Dartmouth Athletics.