Before the games started, Dartmouth coach Bob Whalen made sure to remind his players that the team does not get to start with a handicap because of a lack of scholarships or outdoor playing time, and that when all is said and done, the game is the same.
The series opened Friday night, and the Big Green did not appear intimidated by its power conference foe, taking a 4-3 lead by the bottom of the sixth inning. Dartmouth was led by a barrage of 10 hits, including five doubles off of LSU pitcher Kevin Gausman, who has been predicted as a potential first-round draft pick in this year's Major League Baseball draft. Dustin Selzer '14, Ennis Coble '13, David Turnbull '12 and Jake Carlson '12 all had a pair of hits for the team.
Whalen said he was pleased with the team's performance, noting that "we played aggressively with no intimidation."
However, the team wasn't able to keep the Tiger's offense down as LSU broke open the game with four runs in the bottom of the sixth off of reliever Louis Concato '14. The Dartmouth bats suddenly fell silent, and the Tigers added one more run in the seventh to bring the game to its final score of 8-4.
The second game was not as close. Dartmouth kept the game competitive through five innings, trailing just 4-1, but the Tigers exploded for eight runs in the sixth en route to a 16-3 rout. Dartmouth starting pitcher Mitch Horacek '14 made it through the first three innings unscathed before being touched for four runs in the fourth. Matt Robinson '15 provided one of the few bright spots for the Big Green at the plate, going two-for-three with a pair of singles and two runs scored in his first collegiate game.
The third game, a Sunday matinee, was the most exciting of the series, as LSU won in walk-off fashion. After falling into a three-run hole to start the game, the Big Green mounted a steady comeback, scoring in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to take a 4-3 lead. In the fifth, a trio of freshmen Nick Lombardi '15, Thomas Roulis '15 and Robinson combined with Jeff Keller '14 to plate a pair of runs and chase the LSU starting pitcher from the game.
Mike Dodakian '14 pitched a scoreless fifth before giving way to Thomas Olson '15, who would finish the game on the mound for the Big Green. Olson pitched well in his debut for the team, throwing over 60 percent of his pitches for strikes, but surrendered an unlucky run in the seventh after the Tigers used a bloop double and a hard groundball up the middle to tie the game at four. The game remained knotted until the bottom of the ninth, when the harsh sun a factor all day prevented center fielder Carlson from catching a fly ball that allowed the winning run to score from first.
Whalen noted that he has been focused on preparing the team "as best you can for the things that they are most likely to see in a real game." However, practicing in Leverone Field House mostly prevented the team from having realistic practice fielding fly balls, something that hurt the Big Green over the weekend.
First baseman Dustin Selzer described the excitement that goes along with playing a quality non-conference team early in the season, especially a national powerhouse.
"It was great to be able to challenge ourselves in such a great environment," he said.
Whalen said that starting the season against such a strong team helped the Big Green by showing the team which areas need the most improvement.
"When you play really good teams, when you make mistakes, you pay for them quickly," he said. "It's much easier for the players to see areas that need to be addressed."
While he said it would have been nice for the team to pull out a victory in Baton Rouge, Whalen noted that the early-season trip was also about evaluating the team and giving players up and down the roster opportunities to prove themselves.
"The team knows that we don't try and stretch players on these trips," Whalen said. "Everybody is going to get some opportunities."
The team now takes a break for Winter term exams, with its next game coming on March 15, when it travels west to take on Sacramento State University in a five-game set.
