Away from home, the Big Green (5-16-1, 2-6 Ivy) dropped a pair of games to Cornell on Saturday, losing 4-2 in game one and 12-3 in game two, then split a doubleheader with Princeton, winning the early game 2-1 and dropping the nightcap 12-4.
Game one starter Robert Young '10 pitched the first five innings against the Big Red (11-14, 5-3 Ivy) beautifully, giving up just three hits and retiring the side in order in the fourth and fifth.
"I had a great bullpen [session] before the game and went out there and did what I knew I could do. I had a couple of flaws out there, but overall I felt pretty good," Young said.
Dartmouth took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth, but that was it for the Dartmouth offense in the opening game of the road trip. Cornell starter Jim Heyland gave up only two hits the rest of the way, finishing with three strikeouts.
Cornell junior Jimmy Heinz tied the game with one swing of the bat in the top of the sixth, taking Young deep to left for a two-run homer.
Young retired the next three batters, but the Big Red offense was at it again in the seventh as Cornell took a 4-2 lead by adding insurance runs on a pair of RBI singles by Domenic DiRico and Heinz. Young ended the Cornell scoring threat with the bases loaded by inducing a fly ball out to center.
"I had to trust the pitches that coach Whelan was calling for me, he's been around the game a lot longer than I have." Young said, "I had the confidence to make the pitches where they needed to be and have my defense working for me."
Down to its last three outs and facing a two-run deficit, Dartmouth was able to muster only a one-out single to left off the bat of Jason McManis '08.
Young took the loss, falling to 0-4 in four starts this season. The winning pitcher, Heyland, is 4-2 in six starts, and is boasting a 2.52 ERA on the year.
The Big Red offense beat up on Dartmouth starter Jeff Wilkerson '07 early in game two. A seven-run fourth inning, capped by a grand slam to left-center field by Heinz, cut Wilkerson's outing short and gave Cornell a big 9-0 lead.
Wilkerson faced 22 batters, giving up 10 hits and nine runs with two strikeouts in four innings. He was replaced by right-hander Ben Murray '10, who threw four innings of no-hit baseball while walking one and striking out four.
"My mechanics broke down. I was leaving the ball up in the zone and they were hitting it," Wilkerson said.
The Big Green responded to Cornell's offense in the bottom of the fourth when Ray Allen '09 doubled to left to score Nick Santomauro '10, and Dartmouth scored again in the bottom of the eighth on an RBI double by Erik Bell '08 and an RBI single by Santomauro to cut the Cornell lead to 9-3.
Miller Aldrich '10 replaced Murray in the top of the ninth, but was hit hard, giving up three runs on three hits and issuing walks.
As in the early game, Dartmouth went quietly in its last plate appearances. Brett Gardner '10, pinch hitting for Mike Pagliarulo '09, reached first on a free pass and Kyle Evans '09 singled to left before McManis grounded into a game-ending double play.
Cornell starter Tony Bertucci went seven and one-third innings giving up six hits and striking out three to earn the win. Wilkerson took the loss, falling to 2-3 on the year.
Sunday afternoon Dartmouth took on Princeton (8-15, 4-4 Ivy). Although the game took place on the Tigers' home field, it was a home game for the Big Green and Dartmouth batted in the bottom of the innings.
The Big Green found the scoreboard first in the third inning. Bell advanced McManis to third on a bunt before Jim Wren '10's RBI single to right.
Princeton tied the game in the top of the sixth on a two-out single to right by Dan DeGeorge, scoring Aaron Prince who had reached second on a double. The tie lasted until the bottom of the seventh, when McManis drove in Jason Blydell '08 on a walk-off single to left to give the Big Green the final 2-1 lead.
"I was lucky enough to be up for the opportunity to win the game and came through in a good spot," McManis said. "Our pitching kept us in the whole game and gave us a chance to win."
Southpaw Russell Young '08 earned the win and improved to 2-2 on the year, giving up just five hits in his complete game. He struck out seven, including five in the first two innings. Dartmouth first took the lead again in the final nightcap of the weekend when Damon Wright '08 doubled in Santomauro in the first inning, but the 1-0 lead would be short lived.
Princeton scored once in the second and twice in the third before a five-run fifth inning forced Big Green starter Chase Carpenter '08 to make an early exit. Bobby Steinsdoerfer '07 replaced Carpenter after four and a third innings, and gave up one run of his own.
Zach Cheaney '10 came in for Steinsdoerfer in the sixth, but gave up an RBI double in the seventh before being replaced by Kyle Zeis '08. Zeis allowed Cheney's runner to score from second, then gave up two more runs, one unearned, before ending the inning on a strikeout.
Dartmouth responded to Princeton's four-run seventh in the bottom half of the inning with an RBI single by McManis and an RBI walk with the bases loaded by Bell. Then in the eighth, Blydell scored from third when Allen grounded into a double play.
"We try to treat the game one inning at a time rather than winning the game as a whole," McManis said.Carpenter took the loss in the 12-4 Princeton victory and fell to 0-4 on the season. Princeton starter Eric Waltz improved to 2-0, giving up three runs on six hits and striking out eight in six and two-thirds innings pitched.
Dartmouth returns to action Wednesday, April 11 against Quinnipiac at 3 p.m. for the Big Green's first regular season game at Red Rolfe Field.
