Mother Nature was not particularly kind to the Big Green baseball team this weekend, as Saturday's rainstorm left Dartmouth to play its four-game series with Yale on Sunday and Monday at Yale Field, with a game at Boston College scheduled for yesterday afternoon.
Still, Dartmouth weathered the storm well, going 3-2 during the stretch after taking three out of four games from the Bulldogs -- including a memorable 17-2 romp in the series opener -- to remain one game behind Harvard in the Red Rolfe division heading into next weekend's series against the Crimson.
On Sunday, the Big Green and Bulldogs opened the first game on even footing, as each team scored a first inning run. Left fielder Scott Shirrell '04 drew first blood for Dartmouth, crossing the plate as catcher Brian Zurhellen '05 distracted the play with an attempted steal of second base, and Yale evened the score in the second half when left fielder Randy Leonard scored an unearned run on an error by Dartmouth starting pitcher Pat Dowling '04. The parity continued through the second inning, as both Dowling and Yale starter Doug Shimokawa escaped unscathed. The parity, however, ended when Dartmouth came to bat in the third inning.
Shimokawa opened the inning by hitting Dartmouth co-captain Jason Dacosta '03, who then advanced to third base on a single from Ed Lucas '04 and scored on a sacrifice fly from fellow co-captain Mike Mileusnic '03. Zurhellen followed with a single that advanced Lucas to third, and Lucas scored on a double by Jeff Speights '05.
Speights' double ended Shimokawa's outing, as senior Eric Naison-Phillips was brought to the mound in relief. Naison-Phillips fared no better, though, as he walked second baseman Josh Bailey '03 and designated hitter Chris Grimm '05. Grimm's walk brought Zurhellen home, and right fielder Josh Cushman '05 followed in similar fashion, getting hit by a Naison-Phillips pitch to bring in Speights.
Yale tried its third pitcher of the inning in freshman John Janco, but he was promptly tested by Shirrell, who hit a single that scored Bailey. Next at bat was DaCosta, who was hit by a pitch for the second time in the inning and advanced to first, scoring Grimm in the process. Lucas continued the Dartmouth rally with a single that scored both Shirrell and Cushman. Finally Yale escaped the top of the third.
Following a 1-2-3 inning by Dowling, Dartmouth returned to the bat, with similar results. With one out, Speights and Bailey walked, and following a fly out by Grimm, Cushman walked to load the bases for Shirrell. The left fielder from Portland, Maine proceeded to collect his second, third, and fourth RBIs of the game on a double that brought home Speights, Bailey and Cushman. Shirrell then scored his third run of the game on a DaCosta single. Lucas advanced DaCosta to third with a double, but Mileusnic lined out to third to end the inning.
After Dartmouth loaded the bases with two outs, Shirrell launched a grand slam. Shirrell recorded eight RBIs, the second-highest single-game total in Dartmouth history (Shirrell also owns the single-game record, with 14 runs batted in a game against Harvard last season).
In the second game, Dartmouth right-hander Josh Faiola '06 took the mound for the Big Green against the Bulldogs' Josh Sowers. Sowers had the rougher time of it in the early going, as Dartmouth scored a run in each of the first two innings. Dartmouth added another run in the fourth inning, with DaCosta picking up his second RBI of the game on a sacrifice fly that scored Grimm.
Following a scoreless Dartmouth sixth inning, the two teams traded runs again. Duke was walked, stole second, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and then scored on another bunt to give Yale a 4-3 lead after six innings. Dartmouth tied the score again in the seventh, as Zurhellen singled up the middle to bring Shirrell home from second. Yale went scoreless in the seventh, and both teams failed to put anything together in the eighth, leaving the game to be decided in the ninth inning or more.
In the bottom of the ninth, Faiola walked the first batter he faced, Chris Elkins. Rasmussen then sent Elkins to second with a sacrifice bunt, and Gulker came to the plate with the winning run in scoring position. Gulker singled to right field, bringing home the game-winning run.
Tim Grant '04 pitched a complete game in the first half of Sunday's doubleheader, helping the Big Green to a 12-4 win. The last game of the series saw a battle of freshman right-handers, but was decided in relief as Dartmouth closed the series with a 13-11 victory.
Dartmouth's fifth game in three days was a non-league contest against Boston College. The Big Green took an early 4-0 lead in the third inning, courtesy of a bases-loaded double by Mileusnic, who crossed the plate himself before the inning ended.
A solo homer by Zurhellen opened the fifth for Dartmouth, giving the Big Green a 5-2 lead. However, the Eagles scored a run of their own in the fifth and then added two more in the sixth to tie the game at five runs apiece.
In the eighth, Eagles pinch hitter Eric Wright hit a two-run single that put Dartmouth down two in the top of the ninth. Shirrell tripled to right, then came home on a DaCosta sacrifice, but the Big Green couldn't add another run, and BC picked up a home win.
Dartmouth is now 15-17, with an 8-8 record in Ivy play. The Big Green can win the division with a sweep of the Crimson in this weekend's pair of doubleheaders. Should Dartmouth go 3-1 against Harvard, the teams would meet in a single-game playoff to determine the division champion.
Saturday's doubleheader starts at 1 p.m. at Red Rolfe Field, while Sunday's games will start at the same time in Cambridge.
