Two weeks ago, after a demoralizing four-game sweep at Yale University, the Dartmouth baseball team stood at just 6-6 in the Ivy League. With its hopes of a third consecutive Ivy League championship hanging by a thread, the Big Green managed just three runs in the four games and trailed the Bulldogs by two games in the Rolfe Division standings.
"The Yale series was the worst weekend of our careers," captain Joe Sclafani '12 said. "It was eye-opening."
Instead of wallowing in despair, the team looked to move forward, focusing on the season's final two series against Brown University and Harvard University.
After a remarkable comeback effort, the Big Green locked up the Red Rolfe Division title after winning both of its games on Sunday, defeating the Crimson (10-35, 6-14 Ivy) 3-1 and 10-8 in Cambridge, Mass.
"We tried to put the Yale series behind us," designated hitter Ennis Coble '13 said. "All we could do was look ahead to Brown and focus on ourselves, and then the same thing with Harvard."
Since that sweep earlier in the League season, Dartmouth and Yale have been a study in opposites. The Bulldogs dropped seven of their following nine contests, while the Big Green won 10 straight to complete an improbable back stretch, clinching its fourth straight division title.
Dartmouth (27-11, 13-7 Ivy) will now travel to Princeton University this weekend for the best-of-three League Championship series with an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament on the line. Princeton (21-20, 15-5 Ivy) will host the series due to its better League record, despite the Big Green's decisive victory over the Tigers when the two teams met in Hanover on April 10.
"We really do well play well at home, but it's not the end of the world if we have to go down to Princeton," Sclafani said. "We're not going to go down there with any less confidence."
Dartmouth has been unstoppable at home this season, finishing the season with a perfect 14-0 at Red Rolfe Field at Biondi Park. The Big Green has won 24 home games in a row dating back to last season, the longest active streak in Division I.
Coble said the team is looking forward to this weekend's series.
"We're going to go in pretty confident based on the fact that we're really peaking at the right time and playing our best baseball right now," Coble said.
The Big Green used dominant outings by its starting pitchers to win the each of the first three games against the Crimson, before using a five-run seventh inning to win a 10-8 slugfest in the final game of the series.
Kyle Hunter '13 (5-2) went all seven innings for the win in the first game of the series, allowing just five hits and one run while striking out six. Two seniors fittingly led the way on Senior Day in Hanover, with Jeff Onstott '11 and Sam Bean '11 each homering in the game to provide the Big Green with all the offense it would need. It was Bean's first career home run.
Although it appeared as if a strong pitching effort by Mitch Horacek '14 might have gone to waste in game two, Dartmouth finally broke a scoreless tie late in the game, scoring three times in both the seventh and eighth innings to pull away for the 6-0 victory. Horacek went 6.1 scoreless innings and Mike Dodakian '14 (3-1) and Ryan Smith '11 closed the door on the Crimson out of the bullpen, preserving the shutout.
The key offensive play of the game came with one out in the bottom of the seventh, as Jeff Keller '14 stood in against Harvard starter Max Perlman with the bases loaded. Keller lined a base hit into the gap between third and short, scoring Jason Brooks '11 and Chris O'Dowd '13. Crimson third baseman Jake McGuiggan followed with a throwing error, sending Keller to third and allowing Coble to score, clearing the bases.
Kyle Hendricks '12 (4-3) produced a nearly identical effort in game three, going seven strong innings for the win. He struck out nine while surrendering one run on four hits. In the final game of the series, Dartmouth starter Michael Johnson '13 was knocked out early after Harvard jumped out to a 4-0 lead.
Harvard led 8-4 entering the seventh, but wild pitching from reliever Will Keuper cost the Crimson, as Dartmouth plated five runs in the bottom of the inning to stage a remarkable comeback. Keuper hit both Brooks and Onstott with the bases loaded to send two runs home, while singles from O'Dowd and Coble, along with a sacrifice fly from Keller, accounted for the rest of the scoring in the inning.
Smith deservedly won out of the bullpen to improve to 3-1 this season, allowing just one run on two hits over 3.2 innings, a relatively long outing for the Big Green closer.
Dartmouth travels to Hartford University for a game on Tuesday before kicking off the League Championship series with a doubleheader on Saturday at Princeton. The two teams will meet on Sunday for a decisive game three if necessary.
