The Big Green (6-25-1, 3-13 Ivy) briefly enjoyed a 2-1 lead in the first inning of game one, but the Bears (16-17, 11-5 Ivy) rallied back, eventually taking the game by a score of 7-3.
Brown came out swinging when Steve Daniels opened the game with a triple to right field on the second pitch from starter Russell Young '08. He scored on an RBI single by Matt Nuzzo.
Dartmouth responded in its half of the first with the help of three errors by the Bears. Ray Allen '09 drove in a run on a single that allowed James Wren '10 to score, and Nick Santomauro '10 followed him home on a throwing error by the shortstop, giving the Big Green a 2-1 lead.
After a four-run second for Brown, a bench-clearing incident temporarily held up play in the third inning. With runners at first and third and one out Brown attempted a delayed double steal in a one-and-two count. Ryan Murphy, the batter, struck out swinging as second baseman Jason McManis '08 cut off the throw from the plate attempted to throw out Nuzzo stealing home. The ensuing collision caused members from both teams to come running from the dugout as Nuzzo exchanged words with catcher Jack Monahan '09 before he was ejected for throwing an elbow with malicious intent during the collision.
"I think that the umpire made the right decision in ejecting their player from the game," said head coach Bob Whalen, but he would offer no further comment on the situation.
Nuzzo, who stands at 6 feet and 205 pounds, is a backup quarterback for the Brown football team and is the all-time winningest quarterback in Massachusetts high school history.
Brown continued to rack up hits against Young in the fifth inning, tacking on two more insurance runs and taking the game 7-3. Young came out before the seventh inning and gave up five earned runs on ten hits, striking out four. Jeff Dietz was the winning pitcher for the Bears, giving up two runs on five hits and striking out six in six innings pitched. Brown committed a whopping six errors in the seven-inning contest, but Dartmouth was unable to capitalize on numerous scoring opportunities, leaving nine stranded on base.
The second game of the afternoon saw the Big Green rally back from a 6-1 deficit to take a 7-6 lead, but the excitement was short-lived as Brown put the game away just a half inning later.
Santomauro kicked off the sixth inning rally with his second double of the afternoon, and Erik Bell '08 knocked drove him home before a throwing error by the third baseman allowed Dartmouth to load the bases. McManis singled to right scoring two and pulling the Green within two with just one out. A passed ball allowed the tying and go-ahead runs to advance into scoring position and Damon Wright '08 gave Dartmouth the lead with a two-out double to center field.
The lead would be short-lived, however; Kyle Zeis '08 came in to replace starter Jeff Wilkerson '07 and immediately surrendered a home run to Devin Thomas which tied the score. Brown added some insurance runs with a pair of singles before Daniels broke the game open with a two-RBI double to the wall in right center, giving Brown a four-run lead.
"We were a little down, but we were determined to get back in it again, come back, and put some more runs on the board. But it didn't work out that way," Santomauro said of the players' attitudes following the Bears' game-changing inning. Ethan Silverstein, working in relief for Brown, set down the next six batters in order, and Dartmouth went quietly in the ninth to lose 12-7.
"We certainly expended a lot of energy to get back in the game," Whalen said. "We competed pretty well to get back in there and to go ahead. I think Brown is an exceptional offensive team, and I've got to give them credit."
"It's tough to lose after you come back, but there's nothing else to it. It's just tough. It hurts," Santomauro said.
Dartmouth also dropped a game in which it had first mounted a comeback Tuesday afternoon at the University of Vermont. After taking a 3-2 lead in the fourth inning on two runs scored on passed balls and an RBI single to left by Brett Gardner '10, the Catamounts baffled the Dartmouth defense, scoring three runs off Zach Cheney '10, two of which were unearned. Then in the sixth, Vermont added three more runs on three walks and four wild pitches from Miller Aldrich '10.The Big Green mounted a small comeback in the eighth inning, but the deficit was too large to overcome and the Catamounts prevailed 11-5.
Although Dartmouth is too far out of first place in the Red Rolfe division to have a chance at postseason play, this weekend's pair of doubleheaders is against Harvard, who took the Red Rolfe division championship from Dartmouth last year in a race that came down to the final inning of the season. Harvard is currently one game behind Brown in the division standings. The home doubleheader of the two-day series starts Saturday at 1 p.m. at Red Rolfe field.
