With a win Saturday afternoon against the Harvard Crimson, Dartmouth clinched their first playoff spot in over a decade. This year's campaign has secured an impressive 17-3 Ivy record.
The Big Green began playing solid baseball over their spring trip in Homestead where they went 7-8 against top NCAA competition, including a win against the defending National Champion Miami Hurricanes.
Tallying up sweeps against Princeton, Columbia, Yale and Brown along the way, the Big Green have not left a series with worse than a split, all the while amassing astronomical offensive stats, second in significance only to their pitching performances.
The Big Green are led by ace Conor Brooks '00 (8-1, 5-0 Ivies) who has garnered three Ivy Pitcher of the Week Awards in five voting periods. Brooks leads the team and ranks at the top in the league with a 1.92 ERA and 84 strikeouts.
Jeff Dutremble '01, having progressively reached his pinnacle after recovering from a shoulder injury, has gone on to pitch 35.1 innings and possesses a 4-1 overall record.
Also proving he can be a force on the mound with his 7-1 record has been righty John Velosky '02 who is most likely the third starter for this weekend's Princeton playoff series.
"Across the board this is a tough team to beat," said first baseman Aaron Meyer '00, "teams are intimidated to know you are facing a complete team -- great pitching, hitting, and defense."
As Dartmouth has consistently improved its defense, the pitching staff has been able to rely more on the fielders behind them.
With Brian Nickerson '00, Matt Klentak '02, Chris Miranda '01, and Meyer rounding out the infield, the Dartmouth squad has been making more double-plays, and Nickerson has filled the shoes of Mike Conway '99 at third base.
With the range of centerfielder James "Game Day" Little '00, who had eight put-outs in Sunday's second game, pitchers can assume balls hit high enough in the outfield can be caught.
"Pitching and defense has solidified this team," said Meyer, who described the defense as, "absolutely magnificent."
"If we play like we know we can, we can definitely beat Princeton," said second baseman Miranda.
Beating Princeton is what this team is now thinking of, as Dartmouth will travel to New Jersey Saturday for a best-of-three series.
Dartmouth defeated the Tigers twice the first weekend of the season, but as Princeton now poses a 13-5 Ivy record, Dartmouth expects to be facing a stronger and more developed team.
"We got to them pretty early, sweeping them the first games, but they've come a long way this season. They're going be a tough team," Miranda said.
"Baseball is a marathon sport and the playoffs are a short series. If you face a good pitcher you can have a tough time getting the bats going," said Head Coach Bob Whalen.
The Tigers boast 4-0 sophomore starter Chris Young, who has a meager 1.06 ERA and who will likely start Game One against Dartmouth's Brooks.
"The thing with us is we've got four great pitchers. Once we beat him they're already going to be beaten. If they can't win with Young, they can't win," Meyer said.
This team is full of confidence and energy to take the field against this Princeton team, and if the Dartmouth bats stay on fire as they have been, there's no doubt an Ivy title will be in their future.
Meyer commented, "We can play any team in the Ivy league, we've shown it, the only team that can beat us is us."
Mike Levy '01 said it best after a seven-hit, 16 total base day -- "We expect to be Ivy Champions."
