The Big Green continued to struggle in mid-week games as they fell to UMass-Lowell, 7-3, at Red Rolfe Field yesterday. The loss drops Dartmouth to 19-10 on the year, but only 2-3 on games played during the week.
As has typified their performance this year in non-Ivy League games, Dartmouth came out flat, and that showed most in their defense as the Big Green committed three errors that led to seven unearned runs. In fact, the River Hawks did not produce an earned run all game.
However, in the second inning, it looked as if the game might take an opposite approach as Dartmouth took advantage of a third-baseman James Peloquin's error to push across the first run of the game and take a 1-0 advantage.
The Big Green's luck would go south in the fourth inning, though, as the River Hawks mounted a rally. First Baseman Dana D'Agostino reached base on a two-base error and was plated on double by Peloquin. The River Hawks then plated four runs with two outs on three consecutive hits before Dartmouth starter Matt Tarver-Wahlquist '98 pitched his way out of the inning.
Dartmouth was able to respond with a run of its own in the bottom of the fourth as first-baseman Aaron Meyer '00 hit his fifth home run in four games to bring the Big Green to within 5-2. Meyer leads the team with seven home runs, tying his mark from last season.
A James Little '00 RBI single in the seventh inning narrowed the margin to two runs, but UMass-Lowell added two more runs in the eighth inning to end any hope of a comeback.
Aside from Meyer, one of the Big Green stars was third baseman Mike Conway '99, whose three for five performance extended his hit streak to 13 games. Conway has hit safely in 28 of 29 games this season with the only blemish an 0-3 performance at Princeton two weeks ago.
Wahlquist was handed the loss, his first of the season, despite not giving up an earned run. He struck out five in six-plus innings.
