Upon defeating Harvard (12-28, 10-10 Ivy) in the first game of the Sunday doubleheader with a score of 11-5, Dartmouth (22-13, 16-4 Ivy) pushed Brown (19-17, 13-5 Ivy) out of contention for the division title.
Kyle Hendricks '12 threw 102 pitches in a seven-inning complete-game clincher, giving up four earned runs on seven hits. He was supported by the Big Green offense, which compiled 10 hits on the game. Mike Pagliarulo '09 drilled the winning hit to right field in the fourth inning, driving in Dartmouth's sixth run.
Later in the fourth, Ray Allen '09, facing a 0-2 count, blasted a three-run bomb over the right-field fence to provide some insurance runs for Dartmouth.
Saturday also began with a win for Dartmouth. The Big Green batters exploded during the second inning of the 14-2 victory, scoring nine runs off of seven hits.
Johnathon Santopadre '09 broke the inning open with a three-run homer over the left-field fence to give Dartmouth a 4-1 lead. A soaring triple to center field off the bat of Jeff Onstott '11 then drove in Joe Sclafani '12, who had walked to first, contributing to the 5-1 Big Green lead.
After Crimson starting pitcher Jonah Klees gave up six earned runs, Jeff Reynolds entered the game in relief in the second inning to give up another seven runs off of eight hits.
Brett Gardner '10 blasted a two-run home run to left field, and the Crimson soon retreated back to the dugout facing a 10-1 deficit.
Co-captain Robert Young '10 dashed any hope of a Crimson comeback as he completed the game, giving up only two runs off of five hits and striking out four Crimson batters.
"Knowing that we had that offense going, and that it deflated them, made it easier on my part," Young said about pitching with such a big lead.
After the early victory on Saturday, the day's second game saw Dartmouth up 4-2 after eight only to blow their lead in the top of the ninth, eventually falling in extra innings.
Big Green closer Ryan Smith '11 was brought into the game at the start of the ninth inning to relieve starter Ben Murray '10, who had thrown 93 pitches in eight innings. Murray struck out five and gave up only two runs off of five hits during his outing.
A hit to center field off of Smith bounced off the glove of the centerfielder to put one man on base. Another Crimson batter then smashed a double to drive in Harvard's third run. The next Crimson slugger bunted the ball, but Big Green catcher Kyle Evans '09 fell in his attempt to make the out. A sacrifice fly drove in the tying run and forced extra innings.
Dartmouth continued to fall apart in the 10th inning, as Smith gave up a single into right field followed by a triple into the right corner, allowing Harvard to achieve a come-from-behind victory.
"That's what baseball is," Young said after the games Saturday. "You are always going to find a way to come down to the end of the game at the end of the season, and you have to execute there. It's more fitting than a blowout one way or the other because it gives us pressure which we are going to have if we make it to the Ivy Championship."
The Big Green left 14 men on base throughout the game as a total of 10 hits converted to only four runs.
"We left the bases loaded three times today after getting into their bullpen," head coach Bob Whalen said. "We didn't play well -- we just couldn't get three outs. You can't put the lead-off guy on in extra innings and expect good things to happen. As a team, we need to be better than that."
In Sunday's second game, multiple Big Green starters sat out as Dartmouth had already clinched the title with the previous win. The Big Green, tied with the Crimson 1-1 going into the fourth inning, gave up two runs and would never recover, going on to lose 4-3.
Cole Sulser '12 took the loss after giving up all four runs on eight hits and striking out zero Crimson players. Dartmouth's offense, which cranked out nine hits, could only manufacture three runs.
Dartmouth will return to the newly dedicated Biondi Park to face the University of Hartford on Tuesday at 3 p.m. for the last home game of the regular season. The Big Green will then travel to Boston, Mass., to play Boston College on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
Dartmouth has earned its way into the Ivy League Championship for the second year in a row. The Championship will be played in a series of games on May 2 and 3 in Hanover.
Princeton and Cornell, both 10-10 in the Ivy League, will continue to battle for the Gehrig Division title and the chance to oppose Dartmouth in the Championship.
