Baseball splits with Army, will face UNC in Regionals

Big Green designated hitter Ray Allen '09 blasted two homers and cranked out five RBIs in this weekend's doubleheader against Army, as the Dartmouth baseball team split the NCAA tournament tune-up games in West Point, N.Y. The games marked a battle between two league champions, as Ivy champion Dartmouth (27-16, 16-4 Ivy) faced an Army (34-19, 13-7 Patriot) team that just won its third Patriot League crown in the last six years. Army will now play the University of Texas (41-13, 17-9 Big 12), seeded No. 1 overall, in the first round of the NCAA tournament while Dartmouth will face the No. 1 seed in the Chapel Hill Regional, the University of North Carolina (42-16, 19-10 Atlantic Coast). Dartmouth ended the weekend with an 11-3 rout of Army in the second game, outhitting Army 15-11. Despite leaving 11 men on base and striking out eight times in the second game, the Big Green offense was boosted by Johnathon Santopadre '09 and Allen, who both ripped three hits, as well as Nick Santomauro '10, who drove in three runs off of two hits in the game. Santomauro was the unanimous Ivy League Player of the Year as well as first team All-Ivy for the third year in a row after hitting .473 in the Ivy League. Allen and Jim Wren '10 were also named to the first team All-Ivy. Dartmouth pitcher Ben Murray '10 earned the win after striking out six in relief following starter Kyle Hendricks '12, who pitched the first three innings. Santopadre drove in the fourth and winning run for Dartmouth in the fourth inning with a clutch single. The Big Green would later add seven insurance runs, scoring three in the sixth and four in the ninth. Punching 10 hits in the first game, the Big Green started the game on track for a victory, but deteriorated in the last inning of play. Despite maintaining a five-run lead through the first six innings of the first game, the Big Green melted down in the ninth inning as Ryan Smith '11 gave up six runs off of six hits. Dartmouth went on to lose 8-7, with Smith taking the loss. "It wasn't like they were hitting the ball extremely hard off of him," co-captain Robert Young '10 said. "He made pitches and got inside and jammed them, but with aluminum bats they were able to get enough of it to get the ball in for a hit. Ryan hadn't thrown in quite some time, and it hurt him a little bit." Young started the game, pitching six scoreless innings and giving up only four hits while striking out two. Smith walked two players and hit one batter before giving up a walk-off single to Army first-baseman Kevin McKague for his only hit of the game during his relief outing. Army started its steep crawl back into the game in the seventh as reliever Dan Ternowchek '11 replaced Young and was immediately greeted with a solo home run off the bat of Army shortstop Clint Moore. In the eighth inning, Army took advantage of a wild pitch to score its second run of the game. Army would enter the ninth trailing 7-2 as Dartmouth picked up another two runs off the bats of Joe Sclafani '12 and Jeff Onstott '11 in the eighth inning. Sclafani was the unanimous choice for Ivy League Rookie of the Year with his .388 batting average in Ivy play and consistent defense at shortstop. Jumping out to an early lead before the ninth-inning meltdown, Dartmouth had a three-run first inning and a two-run third. Allen belted his first home run of the day to left field in the first inning, driving in Sclafani and Mike Pagliarulo '09. Sclafani had punched a single, while Pagliarulo had reached base on a walk. "I would say there wasn't any specific reason just a good day at the plate," Allen said about his success with the bat. "I got some good pitches to hit and I didn't miss them." Continuing to manufacture runs in the third inning, the Big Green added two runs to the scoreboard as Allen ripped an RBI-double to drive in Pagliarulo, followed by Wren drilling a single to bring Allen home. Seven Big Green sluggers were granted walks, but eight Dartmouth base runners were left stranded during the loss. Only six Dartmouth hitters contributed to the 10 total hits, while 10 different Army bats were active in compiling its 13 hits. The Big Green now awaits the beginning of the regional round of the NCAA tournament, gearing up to face the Tar Heels on Friday in Chapel Hill, N.C. The Tar Heels have won over 40 games for the eighth season in a row, and their pitchers have combined for 586 strike outs this season. Young said he is optimistic about the Big Green's prospects for the game. "We're really confident and at this point we think that we can play with just about anybody," he said. "We had a really tough schedule in the beginning of the year in California, and it showed us the way the game is supposed to be played. I think that will really help us as we go and try and face one of the best teams in the country"