Harvard (17-18, 12-8 Ivy) entered the weekend series one game out of first place in the Red Rolfe division behind Brown, who went 3-1 this weekend against Yale. Entering Sunday's contests in Cambridge, the Crimson needed to win both games to earn its second division title in as many years.
Last year the race for the division title between Harvard and Dartmouth (8-26-1, 5-15 Ivy) came down to the final game of the season, with the Crimson edging the Big Green in the standings in a late-inning victory.
While the Dartmouth players knew what Harvard was playing for, they stressed that they were not playing for revenge.
"Last year was us versus them for the title, but this year we're already out of the race and we just wanted to go out and play good baseball," Ray Allen '09 said.
Brown (20-18, 14-6 Ivy) will square off with Gehrig Division winner University of Pennsylvania (20-17, 12-8 Ivy) in a best-of-three series on Saturday, May 5, and Sunday, May 6, (if necessary) in Providence, R.I., for the Ivy League title and an automatic bid in the NCAA tournament.
Dartmouth's bats were quiet in the first game at home Saturday as Harvard's ace pitcher Max Perlman threw a seven-inning three-hitter for the win.
Damon Wright '08 ended Perlman's bid for a no-hitter in the fourth inning and Andrew Nacario '07 was the only player to make it as far as second base, reaching on an error and advancing on a wild pitch. Perlman finished the game walking none and striking out five.
"He's got a couple good pitches and a lot of command around the zone. He pitched a good ballgame," said Allen, who attended high school in Longwood, Fla. with Perlman. "He hit his spots, and he never left the ball over the plate."
Big Green starter Chase Carpenter '08 did not fare as well on the mound. Harvard scored two runs in the second and fifth innings as Carpenter gave up eight hits while striking out four and walking one to fall to 0-6 on the year.
Things at the plate turned around quickly for Dartmouth in the nightcap as the Big Green pounded Harvard starter Brad Unger and jumped to an 8-1 lead after three innings. Allen opened the scoring with a two-RBI single that scored Nick Santomauro '10 and Wright after a throwing error.
Starter Robert Young '10 earned his first collegiate win, striking out four, walking one and giving up eight hits for two runs in six innings.
"It feels great to finally get that first win," Young said. "It's something that I would have hoped to have happened earlier in the season, but you can never complain about beating Harvard."
Young said that having the home crowd supporting him contributed to his performance.
"There's always a home field advantage and we had a great crowd out there Saturday," he said. "You get those big outs and you get to hear the fans go crazy. You get real excited and it just helps eveything."
Harvard committed seven errors on the weekend, compared to only one by Dartmouth. The Big Green has struggled defensively all season, but Wright attributed the turnaround to the outdoor workouts Dartmouth finally had this week.
"I think that definitely meant everything for our defense," he said. "There's no substitute for being out there on the dirt and the grass and seeing how the ball bounces. The infielders kept their heads up and kept at it, and it really paid off for us this weekend."
Allen added his third RBI of the day in the second inning and Unger walked in a run in the third before Santomauro drove in two with a bases-loaded single off of reliever Jake Bruton.
The Big Green bats quieted after the three-inning onslaught, and Harvard began to crawl back into the game when Bobby Steinsdoerfer '07 gave up three runs in the seventh after hitting three consecutive batters.
Steinsdoerfer came out in the eighth when he hit a fourth batter on a 3-0 count. An insurance run in the eighth made the deficit insurmountable and Dartmouth came away with the 9-6 victory.
On Sunday, Dartmouth took the first game 2-1 in a defensive battle that came down to the final out. Harvard left 11 men on base, a statistic that would prove to be the difference in the ballgame.
The Big Green drew first blood when Wright drove in leadoff man Erik Bell '08 with a single to right center. Wright's offensive tear continued in the sixth inning when he drove in the winning run on a sacrifice fly for his third RBI in two games.
Starter Jeff Wilkerson '07 gave up seven hits in the first five innings, but the Dartmouth defense helped him strand seven base runners before Harvard put a run on the board in the sixth inning.
A bunt and pair of intentional walks loaded the bases with two outs in the strategic duel in the bottom of the seventh inning, but Wilkerson induced a game-ending grounder to short to earn his third win of the season. He gave up ten hits, struck out three and walked two.
The tables turned in the final game of the weekend when Dartmouth stranded sixteen base runners.
Both teams made good contact in the high-scoring early innings. The Big Green tied the score at 5-5 in the fifth inning on an RBI single by James Wren '10, but Harvard struck back quickly when starter Russell Young '08 gave up two more runs before being relieved by Steinsdoerfer in the sixth.
The game once again came down to the final outs when Wright singled to left center, pulling Dartmouth within one and moving the tying run into scoring position, but Santomauro grounded out to second base to end the game.
The Big Green finished the Ivy League schedule nine games behind first-place Brown in the Red Rolfe division. Dartmouth's seniors played their last home game on Tuesday against Hartford and will face Boston College on the road Wednedsay, May 2, at 3 p.m in the Big Green's season finale.
