Dartmouth jumped out to an early lead, scoring five runs in the top of the first. First baseman Dustin Selzer '14 continued his hot streak as he drove a 2-1 pitch to left field for a three-run home run. The Big Green offense was also helped by a trio of Hartford errors. Selzer's home run was his fourth of the season, and he finished the day with five RBIs, giving him a team-leading total of 28 on the season.
"I think it changes the whole outlook of the game if you can capitalize in the first or second inning," leftfielder Jeff Keller '14 said. "It gives us more confidence at the plate and lets our pitchers know that they don't have to be perfect."
The team has had trouble getting off to fast starts this season, but co-captain Joe Sclafani '12 said he was pleased with the team's early effort on Wednesday.
"We haven't jumped on teams as quickly as we have liked to," he said. "Hopefully we can take this momentum into the weekend."
Hartford refused to go down without a fight as they scored four runs in the second inning to bring the game within one. The Big Green responded quickly with two runs in the third inning, one in the fourth and another three in the fifth to push the lead to 11-4.
The scoring in the fifth was highlighted by a leadoff home run by centerfielder Jake Carlson '12 on the first pitch of the inning. Carlson said he used information on the new pitcher to approach the at-bat and be prepared to get a good pitch to hit.
"He's mainly a fastball pitcher, and I knew I was going to get a fastball first pitch," he said. "He made a mistake leaving one inside and up and I took advantage of it."
The seven-run lead proved to be plenty for the Dartmouth pitching staff. After giving up four runs in the second inning, starting pitcher Louis Concato '14 settled down and completed four innings, not allowing another run while striking out two. Concato was relieved by Chris England '15, who got the win by pitching three strong innings out of the bullpen and giving up only one run on two hits.
Max Langford '12 and Mike Dodakian '14 pitched shutout innings in the eighth and ninth, respectively, to close out the Dartmouth victory.
In addition to Selzer's 4-for-6 game, the team received major contributions from Keller, who had a 4-for-4 performance, bringing his season batting average to a team-best .405. Carlson and rookie catcher Matt MacDowell '15 each added three hits and two RBIs for the Big Green.
Carlson said that the team has hit its stride as a unit at one of the most important points of the year which is encouraging to its players.
"We're playing by far the best baseball we've been playing all year," Carlson said. "It's all coming together at the right time."
This weekend, the team opens a five-game homestand with a pair of doubleheaders against Red Rolfe division rival Yale University at Red Rolfe Field on Saturday and Sunday starting at noon. The Big Green owns a comfortable lead in the division, sitting three games ahead of Harvard and Brown Universities, which are tied for second at 4-8 with eight league games remaining. Yale sits in last place with a 2-10 conference record.
"We certainly are in control of our own destiny," Keller said. "But we're going to play every game like it is a must-win."
The Big Green solidified its division lead after taking three of four from Brown (7-26, 4-8 Ivy) last weekend. In the four games, Dartmouth outscored the Bears 33 to 15.
"We had a really good weekend where our bats came alive," Sclafani said. "That was really good to build confidence for us. We weren't missing pitches and fouling off balls we should be driving."
Despite the team's recent success, the players remain focused on winning each game and not losing any opportunities to add to their lead and secure their fifth consecutive division crown.
"We're not worried about our position in our division," Carlson said. "Regardless of the lead we have in the division, we're trying to win every game."
While the team is currently in line to win the division, it is also motivated by the potential for hosting the Ivy Championship Series, as it is currently three games behind Cornell University, which leads the Lou Gehrig division with a 10-2 conference record.
"Last weekend was really good in terms of getting separation from other teams [in our divison], but we really want to play the [Ivy Championship Series] at home, so we're really trying to win every Ivy League game we can," Sclafani said.
