Baseball Earns First Ivy League Win of Season, Splits Doubleheader Against Columbia

Sunday, March 29

Hanover, N.H.

11:30 AM

Dartmouth College

4-11, 1-3

Columbia

4-14, 2-2

Columbia

Dartmouth

Baseball Earns First Ivy League Win of Season, Splits Doubleheader Against Columbia

3/29/2026 7:17:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Blake McFadden Postgame Interview

Big Green snap nine-game losing skid against the Lions.

By: Rebecca Osowski

HANOVER, N.H. – Dartmouth baseball played its first games of the 2026 campaign at Red Rolfe Field at Biondi Park, Sunday, welcoming the Columbia Lions to Hanover.

The Big Green, looking for their first Ivy League win of the season and first win over the Lions since 2022, played to a thrilling game one win before dropping another close contest in game two.

With the split, Dartmouth moves to 4-12 on the season and 1-4 against Ancient Eight opponents.

Game 1: Dartmouth 3, Columbia 2 (10 innings)
The Big Green wasted no time jumping on the board in game one, opening a two-run lead in the first inning. Nico Bañez led off the game with a walk, eventually stealing second. A.J. DeMastrie singled to send Bañez to third before Milo Suarez drew the second walk of the inning, loading the bases for the Big Green.

Dartmouth capitalized on another free pass as Stefan Di Corrado was hit by the pitch to give his team a 1-0 lead. Sam Andersen then bounced into a fielder's choice, as Dartmouth took a 2-0 lead.

Columbia finally answered in the fourth inning, pulling within one after a leadoff double. The runner advanced to second on a wild pitch before making it a 2-1 game thanks to an RBI groundout.

The Big Green and Lions' pitching duel continued as Columbia's starter Alex Sotiropoulos pitched six complete innings while Dartmouth's Nate Isler continued to pitch into the seventh.

The Lions ultimately tied the game in their half of the seventh, pulling even thanks to two singles.

The Big Green thought they retook the lead in the seventh, but Bañez was thrown out at home trying to score from second on a DeMastrie single.

With the game tied, Isler continued to pitch, recording a 1-2-3 eighth inning and allowing a hit in the ninth, but facing the minimum after DeMastrie threw out a runner on the base path. The Big Green had two runners on in the ninth but couldn't pull ahead.

Isler came back out onto the mound for the top of the tenth, recording two outs.

"I think the biggest thing with Nate that he did today is he had really good command of all of his pitches. Not a lot of free bases," Interim Head Coach Blake McFadden said about his starter. "It's gotten him in trouble a little bit early in the year, had a couple too many free bases, some noncompetitive [at-bats]. Today, he had a really good feel for all of his pitches and went on the attack and really competed very well."

Hear from Head Coach Blake McFadden after today's doubleheader against the Lions.#GoBigGreen | #TheWoods pic.twitter.com/iBak11OzXO
— Dartmouth Baseball (@BigGreenBSB) March 29, 2026

After back-to-back singles, Mac Burke entered the game in relief. He recorded the final out to give Dartmouth its second chance to walk it off.

Di Corrado led off the inning with a line drive to the first baseman, reaching base as he wasn't able to hold onto the ball. Andersen then bunted to advance the runner, Mason Smith, to second.

With a runner in scoring position and only one out, Interim Head Coach Blake McFadden sent first-year Henry Murray to the plate. The first-year delivered, ripping a single to center field to score Smith and secure the Big Green's first Ivy League win of the season.

Took game one in thrilling style!#GoBigGreen | #TheWoods pic.twitter.com/dcokKYsaTV
— Dartmouth Baseball (@BigGreenBSB) March 29, 2026

"Henry's done a great job of keeping a clear head," McFadden said. "He had a real tough first Ivy weekend last weekend at Penn, but he went right back to work this week and it gave us the confidence to put him in that position. He's done a good job all season driving in runs and he came through… Not many people get that in their career and it was an awesome moment for Henry and our team."

Isler finished the day allowing two runs on nine hits in 9.2 innings. He dealt two walks and fanned seven.

Burke came away with the win, recording the one out needed.

Game 2: Columbia 3, Dartmouth 1
Offense once again struck early in the second game of the doubleheader, as the Lions opened the scoring in the first inning. Columbia took a 1-0 lead thanks to two hits, a double and a single.

The Big Green immediately responded, tying the game with the first opportunity they had, Nico Bañez once again led off the game with a walk, advancing to second thanks to a Taer Rodriguez sacrifice bunt. A.J. DeMastrie continued to swing, singling to right field to score Bañez and make it a 1-1 game.

Dartmouth continued to threaten, putting two runners on in the second, a runner in scoring position with one out in the third, and two runners on in the fourth, but it was Columbia that broke the tie.

After pressuring in the fourth, they found a way to push the go-ahead run across in the fifth. The Lions hit a triple with one out, before a double sent the runner home, as Columbia retook a one run lead.

Dartmouth recorded a triple of their own in the sixth, but the runner was thrown out at home, as the lead remained with the Lions.

In the top of the seventh, Columbia extended its lead. With two outs, the Lions put a runner on thanks to a single. He later stole second before coming home on another single.

Alejandro Puig doubled with one out in the ninth, moving to third on a Bañez ground out, putting the tying run at the plate, but the Lions got out of the jam, earning the 3-1 win in game two.

Despite the loss, McFadden is happy with how his team competed, noting they just didn't get the big hit.

"I thought our pitchers did a good job competing. I thought our players and team did a good job competing. We got the tying run up in the ninth, but it just didn't go our way," McFadden said.

Marco Dumksy got the start for the Big Green, allowing two runs on six hits in 4.2 innings of work. He walked two and struck out five.

Kyle Klaric-Schell impressed in his 3.2 innings of work. He fanned five through the first seven batters he faced, finishing the day allowing one run on three hits with one walk and six total strikeouts.

Nathan Matoush wrapped the game for the Big Green, striking out one and recording the final two outs.

Up Next: The Big Green and Lions will wrap the regular season series on Monday, March 30, as Dartmouth looks for its first Ivy League series win of the season. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. You can watch the game on ESPN+ or follow the live stats on DartmouthSports.com.