Mallory was absolutely shelled, giving up 10 runs in less than three innings in his first start of the season for Dartmouth (10-12).
Before Mallory was relieved, he had put together a forgettable stat line for his first career start -- five earned runs, nine hits, three walks, and two home runs allowed in two and two-thirds innings.
"Defense is what let him down," Thomas Myette '06, who finished with three errors, said of Mallory. "There were many instances in that game in which he should have been out of the inning, but the defense failed him. The pitchers should expect that their defense will make routine plays for them."
Quinnipiac (12-14-1) used a pair of two-out rallies in the early innings to knock Mallory out of the box. His replacements didn't fare much better, and the Bobcats spent the day padding their batting averages, finishing with 21 hits off of five different Dartmouth hurlers.
Quinnipiac was particularly unkind to Ryan Marten '09 and A.J. Pendleton '09, as the two freshmen combined to give up 10 runs in the final three innings. Pendleton was tagged for seven runs, two earned, off seven hits in two-plus innings.
Dartmouth finished with six errors that led to a whopping 10 unearned runs.
Early on, the Big Green offense kept Dartmouth in the contest. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the first, Damon Wright '08 grounded out to the pitcher and forced the play at first, bringing home leadoff man Johnathon Santopadre '09 from third.
After Myette walked and Andrew Nacario '07 was thrown out at home on a fielder's choice, Michael Pagliarulo '09 dropped a two-run single into center, cutting the lead to one. A Bobcat error allowed Kyle Cavanaugh '09 to score from third to tie the score at four.
Dartmouth soon fell behind again, but Cavanaugh hit a two-run homer to left field in the third inning that brought the score to 10-6, forcing Bobcat starter Ryan Walfield out of the game in favor of Joe Duffy. However, the Big Green couldn't figure Duffy out, and he retired nine of the next 11 batters en route to the victory.
Pagliarulo led the Big Green, going 2-for-4 with 3 RBI on the day. Cavanaugh also chipped in with a 2-for-5 day at the plate highlighted by a home run and a pair of RBI.
"We competed all right at the plate throughout the game, but once you mount a comeback and the team goes up four more because of defensive miscues, it sometimes takes the wind out of your sails," Myette said.
This loss of momentum was highlighted as the game came down to the wire. Dartmouth entered the eighth trailing 15-10. The Big Green had chipped away at the deficit in the previous inning, when both Will Bashelor '07 and Wright had ripped extra base hits with two outs, plating a pair of runs. In the eighth, however, Cavanaugh dropped a fly ball in left field with no outs, putting a man on who would later score with two outs on an error by Myette. Dartmouth did not score for the rest of the game.
Myette equated the poor defensive display to an uncontrollable force.
"It was just one of those days, they come every so often in the game of baseball, it starts to snowball and it is a terrible feeling."
He added, "That should not happen again the rest of the season. Hopefully repetition will take care of fielding issues."
The Big Green, 6-2 in the Ivy League, returns to the diamond with a weekend four-game road trip against Red Rolfe Division opponent Brown. The teams will square off in two doubleheaders, beginning at noon on Saturday and Sunday.
