Tony Gwynn once said during a San Diego Padres slump, "We know we are better than this, but we just can't prove it."
The Dartmouth baseball team made its slump, now at four games, official yesterday in a disappointing 17-6 loss against last year's NCAA division one regional finalist, the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.
Lowell, also ranked second in the New England region this year, broke free from an early 2-2 tie against the Big Green with six-runs in the third inning.
Before Dartmouth could regroup, Lowell added three more in the fourth and six in the fifth frame, shifting the remaining innings into an experience-gathering scrimmage for both team's benches.
As worrisome as Dartmouth's breakdown on the mound at windswept Lowell Field yesterday was, the Big Green's clutch hitting department. The starting nine stranded 13 runners on the day, including three times in bases-loaded situations.
On the bright side, hurler Dan Godfrey '98 and rookie right-hander Bernard Mauricia '99 shut down Lowell's arsenal in the final frames. Centerfielder Andrew Spencer '97 also continued his hitting tear, going 3-6 with a double.
For Dartmouth, the 1996 spring preseason, consisting of the toughest schedule Head Coach Bob Whalen has put together in his seven-year tenure, has been a series of learning experiences.
Dartmouth, still a favorite in its division behind powerhouse Yale, has already faced a slew of nationally and regionally ranked schools, including Arizona State, previously ranked 14th in the country.
Excuses aside, the Big Green are sick and tired of not putting up the W, according to co-Captain Greg Gilmer '96.
"I am happy we play tough teams, and I think it's going to help us when we start [the Ivy League schedule] this weekend, but I also think that there's a point where you have to pick yourself up and win games, rather than just be happy with playing well," he said.
"That's going to be the test this weekend [in the Ivy League opener]," co-Captain Jake Isler '96 added. "That's what it's all about now, whether we can step up and do it."
With the spring trip and a week of games behind him, Whalen defended the importance of a top-of-the-line early season schedule, saying, "If we scheduled Division III schools like other Ivy schools, we would win a lot more games, but I am just not going to do it, because it doesn't help us [as much]."
With the loss behind them, and the heart of the Big Green's season coming up on Friday and Saturday with doubleheaders at Princeton and Cornell, the Big Green will need to regroup and refocus quickly.
"This would have been a nice stepping stone, but this definitely is not going to decide our fate," Gilmer said.
Isler was convinced that the Big Green will turn it around. "The real season starts Friday. We are just trying to get confidence, take the first game on Friday and get the ball rolling. Hopefully winning will be contagious, and we'll get the first Ivy win.
"I think we have the talent here, everyone has to believe in it and play to their potential," he said. "We are 0-0 right now. We are all starting fresh, and... everything starts again. We just need to now step up to our level of play.
