The sun was shining on Dartmouth baseball this weekend. After a cold start to the morning on Saturday at the annual Green and White football scrimmage, the day turned around by afternoon and a crowd gathered at Red Rolfe Field. Spirits ran high for the fans of the home team, a lively mix of student hecklers and devoted parents, including a couple who flew out to support the Big Green on Senior Day even though their son had graduated in 2009.
As I soaked up the sun, Dartmouth blew away the competition, outscoring Harvard 10-1 over the course of the twinbill. The emotional energy of the first game can be captured in two opposing events: The first collegiate home run for Sam Bean '11 which was later rescued off a roof to serve as memorabilia and another loss for Crimson senior pitcher Eric Eadington, who closed his season out 0-7.
By the opening pitch of the second game, a win for the home team seemed evident, although we didn't end up scoring until the seventh. The win was also crucial, because sweeping Saturday's games meant at least a tie for the team's fourth-straight division title. The Dartmouth squad did its part and Yale helped out with a loss to Brown on Saturday, leading the Bulldogs to hand over their share of the Red Rolfe crown. In Hanover, the stands pulsed with this information, and parents kept tabs on Yale's game while simultaneously whistling and cheering for their own sons.
Thanks to hours in the front row of the stands on Saturday afternoon, I left the games seriously burnt probably much like the Crimson felt. While a bottle of aloe vera can (hopefully) ease my pain, Harvard will need dramatic changes to be competitive next season. The Crimson bats connected with the ball on Sunday at their home field to make the games a little closer, but the weekend still ended up 4-0 in favor of the Big Green.
A .200 winning percentage overall means the season is over for Harvard, while Dartmouth currently sits on top of the Red Rolfe division with a 10-game winning streak. The Big Green has one more regular-season game scheduled before the Ivy League Championship next weekend, but that shouldn't pose much of a problem Hartford University hasn't won a game since April 17 and it dropped four games to Yale in March.
According to the box score, over 900 people turned out for the doubleheader this weekend. Senior Day worked out just as it was supposed to, with enthusiastic parents filling the stands and the whole team showing its thanks with a sweep. As one mother in a sparkly green visor and Dartmouth baseball t-shirt explained, the 28-man team is tightly knit small in comparison to Harvard's 37-man roster, for instance and so are their families.
With any luck, Dartmouth baseball will continue to play well through the championship, where we'll face a very different opponent this year. After finishing last season at the bottom of the Lou Gehrig Division, Princeton has home-field advantage next weekend for the League Championship series. The Tigers have a slightly better League record, but Dartmouth swept the head-to-head matchups during the season, so I'm predicting yet another trip to the NCAA tournament in June. As I'm sure everyone recalls, the Big Green even made SportsCenter last time for one (in)famous moment the Not Top 10. Let's continue the inspired play, but not run that moment back.
