The Big Green baseball team had a little fun yesterday, coming from behind to crush its hosts from the University of New Hampshire 15-10.
Dartmouth, down 7-4 going into the seventh inning, erupted for nine runs, six of them unearned, to take a 13-7 lead against New Hampshire. Before the dust had settled in the seventh frame, four New Hampshire pitchers had to climb the mound to take their chances against the Big Green lineup.
Co-Captain cleanup-hitting third baseman Jake Isler '96, with three hits and three runs batted in, led the Big Green arsenal, which totaled 12 hits on the afternoon.
Fellow co-Captain Greg Gilmer '96 also had a pair of base hits, along with first baseman Jimmy Meyer '97, and rookie outfielder Ron Friedman '99.
"The whole team really came together," said Friedman, the Big Green's newest big gun at the plate. "We finally got more clutch hitting. We had two outs [in the seventh] and we scored four more runs, which in the end turned out to be pretty important."
Friedman, who has had a phenomenal first year thus far for the Big Green, did his share in the clutch department as well, hammering a bases loaded two-run single in the seventh frame.
In the pitching department, southpaw Matt Tarver-Wahlquist '98 took over the reigns from starter Dan Godfrey '98 in the fifth inning to get the win. Eric Walania '98, who is undefeated in his last three starts, got some work in as well, pitching the final three innings in relief of Tarver-Wahlquist.
Dartmouth got its first player on the Ancient Eight Honor Roll this week, as Friedman was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week, going 5-12 with the stick in Dartmouth's weekend games against Brown.
The heavy-hitting freshman has evolved as one of the most pleasant suprises of the year, notching a starting role while carrying the highest Ivy League batting average on the team and fifth highest average in the league an impressive .459 clip.
"I feel like it's a mixture of a lot of hard work that the coaches have put me through and a little luck. This is the most swinging I've ever done," said Friedman on the hitting-intensive work Head Coach Bob Whalen puts the team through.
Dartmouth, now 7-19 overall this season, but 5-7 and one game out of first place in the Ivy League Red Rolfe division, hosts Tufts University this afternoon at 3:00 p.m.
The Big Green will face their most important test of the season this weekend, however, in a four-game home series against the Elis of Yale, beginning at noon on Saturday at Red Rolfe Field.
"Coach [Whalen] is really emphasizing that we get a few wins heading into the weekend," said Friedman, on the importance of another good showing against Tufts today.
Yale, champion of the Red Rolfe Division for three years running, climbed out of an early season slump and into a crowded tie for first place in the division, along with Harvard and Brown. The Elis remain the widely regarded favorites in the tight division race.
How important are the weekend games against Yale?
"Its going to make or break our season," Friedman said. "Every year, its always us or Yale [in the standings], and this weekend we control our own destiny. We are pretty psyched."
