In the aftermath of the past weekend's Ivy opening debacle, the Big Green baseball team seemingly needs to find answers to what went so wrong on their journey to Cornell and Princeton. More importantly, sitting in last place in the Red Rolfe Division three games behind Harvard, Yale and Brown, Dartmouth must find those answers quickly before Columbia and Penn roll into town on Friday for the second Ivy weekend of the 1998 campaign.
Thankfully for Big Green faithful, it is too early to push the panic button just yet. Last year, the Big Green raced out to the best Ivy League start in school history, 11-1, before collapsing at the end of the season by losing eight straight games. So Dartmouth knows that a fast start doesn't guarantee a league title and consequently, a slow start doesn't prevent a league title either. With this knowledge under their green caps, this weekend presents a great opportunity for the Big Green to even their mark and get back in the race, as the Lions and Quakers come to Hanover with a combined record of 6-10 in league play.
Another factor in the Big Green's favor right now is the schedule. Ten of their remaining 16 league games are at home, and four games remain with each of the Crimson, Bulldogs and Bears. Dartmouth still controls their own destiny as wins in all 12 of those games would give them the division title and a berth in the Ivy League championship. Ten wins and a sweep of Columbia and Penn would also most likely get the job done.
However, even if the Big Green gains a sweep this weekend, they remain in precarious position. Last season, it took the boys of spring until May to reach the four loss plateau. This year, it seems the Big Green have taken the opposite approach in opening the season with four blemishes in one weekend alone, guaranteeing themselves an uphill climb.
In analyzing the team's performance over the weekend though, the climb may not turn out to be as steep as one might imagine. For starters, Dartmouth's two strengths, pitching and hitting, virtually disappeared on the road trip and should return. Previous to last weekend, the Big Green's lowest offensive output on the season had been three runs against national power Oklahoma State in the second game of the season. In both doubleheaders, Dartmouth only managed to score one run in one of the games while only pushing home a total of 11 runs in the four games combined.
If the Big Green knew their offense was going to betray them, this would not have been the time they would have chosen to have their defense and pitching betray them as well. Numerous errors and unearned runs completed the team's collapse and cemented their spot in the cellar of the division, even if residency only lasts for the first week. Just as the offense had been consistently good until the trip, so had the pitching. Entering Saturday, the Big Green had only given up over eight runs five times in 13 games. Against the Tigers and the Big Red, Dartmouth gave up 29 runs in three games. Their best performance of the weekend, the 2-1 loss in the opener at Princeton, was the lone exception to the weekend's trend.
The big question is where does the Big Green go from here. The area that must return to early season form is the pitching staff. The Big Green must regain the form and confidence they demonstrated during the spring trip to Florida in which they started 10-1. In the six games since that trip, not one starting pitcher has earned a victory. Conor Brooks '00 has continued his solid pitching but was a tough luck loser to the Tigers. Freshman Mark Swan, after overwhelming batters in Florida, seems to be going through the normal freshman downturn and must regain his confidence if he is to have a successful Ivy campaign. In the end though, it must be up to the four senior hurlers: Pete Sellers, Eric Walania, Matt Tarver-Wahlquist and reliever Dan Godfrey, to settle the staff down if this team is to make a run at the Ivy League championship that three days ago seemed easily within reach.
The offensive struggles should be less troubling to the Big Green as this is a team that can certainly hit the ball for average and power. With a solid leadoff man like Mike Conway '99, who has reached base safely in every game this year, the offense will always have a catalyst. Until this trip, the loss of All-American shortstop Brian Nickerson '00 had not affected the offense the way some expected it may have. While Nickerson's loss was detrimental, championship teams win by handling adversity. Plus, his replacement, Joe Rockers '01, came through with a solid offensive weekend. There is no doubt that the hitting will return, hopefully sooner than later.
A key ingredient that can't be overlooked on any squad is the combination of experience and senior leadership. Despite the high expectations of the squad, this team's roster is relatively young, with only four seniors on the team. During last year's title bid, the Big Green had key senior leadership in the infield, in the outfield and on the pitching staff. This year, senior experience is only found among the pitchers.
This team can play with the best in the league and is good enough to win their division. In the end though, that is easier to write and for the players to believe than it is to produce on the field. Still, no matter where they stand now, this team has the potential to be just as dangerous as last year's squad that ran off 11 straight Ivy victories.
