Late Leads Lost in Doubleheader Downer

Saturday, April 8

Hanover, N.H.

11:30 AM

Dartmouth College

1-21, 0-7

Harvard

9-16, 5-2

Harvard

Dartmouth

Sophomore Jackson Hower

Photo by: Mike Janes/Four Seam Images

4/8/2023 6:47:00 PM | Baseball

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Harvard rallied late two steal away both games from the Big Green on Saturday

By: Rick Bender

HANOVER, N.H. — Dartmouth took a pair of leads late into both ends of a doubleheader at Red Rolfe Field at Biondi Park on Saturday but could not come away with a victory as Harvard rallied to defeat the Big Green by scores of 6-3 and 10-6. Hunter Baldwin provided the heroics in the opener with a ninth-inning grand slam, and the Crimson (10-16, 6-2 Ivy) scored six runs in the eighth en route to a 10-6 triumph in the nightcap as Dartmouth dropped to 1-22 on the season and 0-8 in the Ivy League.

The Big Green's starting pitching was terrific in both games as senior Jack Metzger held Harvard to just two runs over a career-long eight innings while striking out seven, and senior Trystan Sarcone surrendered three runs over seven stanzas as both departed with leads. But the Crimson bats came to life against the Dartmouth bullpen in both contests to steal two wins away from their host.

Sophomore Jackson Hower was the offensive spark plug for the Big Green, scoring the first run of each game with flat-out hustle before belting his first two career homers in the nightcap.

The day did not begin well for the Big Green, however, as Jake Berger touched Metzger for a two-out, two-run round-tripper in the top of the first of the opener for a quick 2-0 Harvard lead.

The score remained that way until the fifth when Hower reached on a leadoff single, took second on a ground ball, advanced to third on a bunt and hustled home on a wild pitch that did not stray very far from the plate, cutting the Dartmouth deficit in half.

MAX ZAJEC comes through! The junior lines the RBI single to give us a 3-2 lead going into the 9th. Watch the end on @ESPNPlus: https://t.co/h3qqFrK0D9 #GoBigGreen | #TheWoods pic.twitter.com/s3WqnQNlYn
— Dartmouth Baseball (@BigGreenBasebal) April 8, 2023

That was all Crimson starter Jay Driver would surrender until the bottom of the eighth when he plunked consecutive hitters with one down. On his very next pitch, sophomore Elliot Krewson stole third and senior James House was able to take second when the offering eluded the catcher, putting both into scoring position. Driver was relieved by Harrison Stovern, who induced a grounder to short off the bat of Connor Bertsch that sent Krewson scurrying home with the tying run, and junior Max Zajec followed by lining a pitch to left for a clutch RBI single and a 3-2 lead.

With Metzger's pitch count at 115, Dartmouth head coach Bob Whalen went to his bullpen, and the first three batters reached against Shane Bauer (0-1) on a double, bunt single and a walk to load the bases with nobody out. Baldwin then greeted reliever Ivan Hoyt by belting a 1-0 pitch to deep right-center over the fence for a go-ahead grand slam, his first four-bagger of the season and third hit of the game, and Stovern (3-2) retired the side in order in the bottom half to close out the Crimson victory.

Harvard jumped out to a lead in the first inning of game two, which was delayed for 20 minutes as the scheduled home plate umpire had to be helped off the field and taken to the hospital to be checked out. The delay may have impacted Sarcone's start as the first four Crimson batters reached base, scoring one run and loading the bases with nobody out. But the left-hander got a force at the plate and a double-play grounder to minimize the damage and keep it a 1-0 game.

Logan Bravo singled home the second Harvard run in the third with two down, but Hower got that run back in the bottom half, again with some heads-up base running. He began the inning by lofting a pop up into shallow right field, but he ran out of the box hard, allowing him to slide into second safely when the ball was dropped. After he surprised the defense by stealing third, he sprinted home on a safety squeeze and slid head-first across the plate just ahead of the tag for the first Dartmouth run.

After Bravo delivered another two-out, RBI single in the fifth, Dartmouth responded by taking the lead in the bottom half. Hower provided the first Big Green hit in a big way, smashing his first bomb of the game to close the gap back to a run at 3-2. Sophomore Zackarie Casabonne and senior Kolton Freeman singled, then moved up a base on a wild pitch with two outs, allowing senior Peter O'Toole to come up clutch with a two-run single for a 4-3 lead.

Thank you sir, may I have another? Jackson Hower with his 2nd BOMB of the game, this one a 2-run shot, gives us a 6-3 lead in the 7th! Watch on @ESPNPlus: https://t.co/pLPLnGZ8Xl #GoBigGreen | #TheWoods pic.twitter.com/euBFtZTLKo
— Dartmouth Baseball (@BigGreenBasebal) April 8, 2023

Hower added two more runs in the seventh, cranking another Clark offering over the fence in left, this time with a man on, to boost the Dartmouth advantage to three at 6-3.

But with Sarcone gassed after his seven innings of work, the bullpen could not keep the Harvard bats at bay as the Crimson tallied six runs in the eighth. Bravo started the rally with a leadoff double, and Peter Messervy provided the big blow with a two-out, three-run double to put Harvard back on top. Berger added a solo blast, his fifth homer of the year, in the ninth, and Callan Fang recorded the final six outs to earn his first save.

Clark (3-2) earned the victory, striking out 11 over seven stanzas while yielding six runs, five earned, on six hits. Messervy led the 14-hit Crimson attack by going 4-for-5 with three runs and three RBIs, and Bravo added three hits and drove in two while scoring another.

Jeff Lee (0-1) was stuck with the loss after walking the only two batters he faced in the eighth, both of whom scored. Hower was 2-for-4 in the nightcap with three runs and three RBIs, while O'Toole added two hits and two RBIs as well.

The two teams will finish their three-game series on Sunday with first pitch at noon. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Wayne Young '72 and Bob Lipman calling the action, and live stats will be available on DartmouthSports.com, the official website of Dartmouth Athletics.

Notes: Dartmouth has lost 15 straight games, its second-longest skid ever, one shy of the 16-gamer suffered in 1979 … Hower's two-run long ball was the ninth home run of the season for the Big Green but the first with a man on base … Hower is the first Dartmouth player with two homers in a game since Freeman swatted a pair last year against Manhattan on May 8.

Two tough losses late against Harvard today, but Coach Whalen took the time to talk about a number of positives that he saw from his team in the games. pic.twitter.com/WlbNQA4Mim
— Dartmouth Baseball (@BigGreenBasebal) April 8, 2023