But a loss to Princeton University in the League championship series stopped Dartmouth from advancing to its third straight NCAA tournament, leaving a sour taste in the mouths of players accustomed to success.
"I thought we played pretty well," first baseman Jason Brooks '11 said. "The first game was tough, but I don't think it was one thing [we did wrong]. Everybody battled this weekend, we just came out on the short end of the stick."
The Big Green began the season auspiciously, winning eight of 10 games on the team's spring trip to Florida Dartmouth's best start to a season since opening 10-1 in 1998. The team continued to play well after returning to the Northeast, winning nine of its next 11 games. The Big Green's sole blemish was a doubleheader loss to the University of Pennsylvania on April 3.
A four-game sweep at Yale University in mid-April put Dartmouth's championship chances in serious jeopardy. The series gave the Bulldogs a two-game lead over the Big Green with just two League series to play, and Dartmouth was held to just three runs in the series, well below its season average of over seven runs per game.
The Big Green refused to let the season slip away, however, putting the Yale series behind it to focus on its eight remaining games four each against Brown University and Harvard University. Dartmouth was unbeatable during that stretch, taking all eight games, while Yale stumbled and lost five of its last seven League matchups. The Big Green leapfrogged the Bulldogs and clinched its fourth consecutive Division title.
Despite the disappointing League championship that followed, the team's graduating seniors said they were proud of what they had accomplished during their time in Hanover: four Rolfe Division titles, two League championships and 109 wins total the highest total of any class. Dartmouth had not won a League title since 1987.
The Big Green also dominated the League's statistical leaderboards, topping the conference in batting average (.307), runs per game (7.07) and ERA (3.97), and ranking second in fielding percentage (.967).
The Big Green's offensive success this season was particularly impressive given the NCAA's introduction of new metal bats designed to play like the less-powerful wood bats used in Major League Baseball. Dartmouth's runs per game and batting average numbers were slightly higher in 2011 than 2010.
"Every team had to use the bats, so the playing field was still level," Brooks said. "The ball didn't travel as far, and the sweet spot was a lot smaller. The games went a lot faster."
While the Big Green hitters put up numbers similar to those in 2010, Dartmouth's pitching staff took advantage of the change in bats, lowering its team ERA from 6.15 to 3.97 and lowering its opponents' batting average from .321 to .267.
Several Big Green individuals were also league standouts, with shortstop Joe Sclafani '12 leading the League in hits and triples and a pair of sophomores, Chris O'Dowd '13 and Ennis Coble '13, leading the conference in runs scored and runs batted in, respectively. Sclafani set the Dartmouth single-season record for triples, with eight.
Kyle Hendricks '12 had an impressive season on the mound, posting a 2.47 ERA with 70 strikeouts in just 62 innings pitched. Cole Sulser '12 also dominated, registering a 2.59 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 48.2 innings.
The entire pitching rotation and six position players return in 2012. Dartmouth's chances to reclaim the League title next season appear promising.
