In its last few games, the Dartmouth baseball team has adopted the "all-or-nothing" style of play. It seems the Big Green either destroy, or get destroyed.
On Friday, Dartmouth walloped Brown in both games of a doubleheader, 7-2 and 7-1.
Saturday, Dartmouth disintegrated in the opener of the second set againstBrown, losing 14-0. Then, in the nightcap, the team awakened, crushing the Bears 11-4.
Yesterday at the University of Vermont, Dartmouth continued the extreme pattern as the Big Green were blanked by Vermont 6-0, dropping their overall record to 6-6 in the Ivies and 10-14 overall.
Of the six runs, only three were earned, as Dartmouth gave up five errors behind starting pitcher Matt Tarver-Walquist '98, who slid to 0-3 on the season.
The biggest surprise of the day was the transformation of the usually potent Dartmouth offensive machine into a windmill. The team whiffed 13 times on the day against a host of Vermont pitchers, including starter Keith Cooper.
On the bright side, co-Captain right fielder Greg Gilmer '96 and designated hitter Travis Horton '96 had strong days at the plate. Both players had two hits each, accounting for four of the five Dartmouth baggers on the day.
This weekend, Dartmouth has a chance to control its own destiny.
The team travels to New Haven for four games against Yale, which took three of four from Harvard last weekend to remain atop the Red Rolfe Division, three games ahead of Dartmouth.
"Those are definitely must win games for us," said hot hitting second baseman Mike Armstrong '98.
The team is confident heading into the make-or break week. "We know we have a good team. If we play as well as we did Friday [against Brown] we feel we can beat any of our opponents," Armstrong said.
"I like playing good teams," added Coach Bob Whalen on the upcoming four game series with the Bulldogs, "that's what its all about."
Diamond Notes
Second baseman Mike Armstrong '97 made the Ivy League honor roll this week, going 7-15 with four runs and an RBI to raise his batting average to .429 in Ivy play. Armstrong played like a Hoover on defense, sucking up a number of potential hits, which was instrumental to the three weekend wins.
First Baseman and co-Captain Todd Seneker '95 currently has thethird highest batting average in the League at a .431 clip.
Freshman starting pitcher phenom Eric Walania '98, who picked up his third win of the season this weekend, has the lowest earned run average in the Ivy's, allowing only 1.34 runs per game.
