For Dartmouth, this weekend also marked the start of something new: the drive for Ivy League Championship number two.
Playing in front of a packed senior-day crowd, Dartmouth (31-7, 15-5 Ivy) swept Harvard (11-29, 8-12 Ivy) at home and then again in Sunday's away games, clinching its sixth straight Red Rolfe divisional title and a spot in the Ivy League championship series next week at Columbia University.
Despite beating Columbia (24-19, 16-4 Ivy) twice earlier this year, Dartmouth must play the best of three series in New York because the Lions have a better overall Ivy record by one game.
Against Harvard, senior pitchers Kyle Hunter '13 and Cole Sulser '12 delivered a shutout and one-run game, respectively, as the Big Green won the opening two games 3-1 and 8-0.
"I thought those two kids have defined so much of what our program has been about," head coach Bob Whalen said. "We try and throw a lot of strikes and play really, really good catch. And that's always been our thing."
In his final home start, Sulser overwhelmed the Crimson batters with his fastball and Matt MacDowell '15 hit the eventual game-winning two-RBI double in the fourth inning for the 3-1 victory.
"I thought he was overpowering them as far as their bats go, everybody was real behind," second baseman Matt Parisi '15 said.
Parisi was fielding ground balls all day, a good indicator of Susler's effectiveness.
"If I'm getting a lot of ground balls, it just means he's beating them with the fastball and they're all late," Parisi said.
While Sulser let a runner into scoring position in the fifth inning, his ability to pitch out of dangerous situations has become a defining feature of his career.
"He really does a good job minimizing and never lets a couple of mistakes become a three or four-run inning," Whalen said.
MacDowell's deep double in the fourth inning drove in Joe Purritano '16 and Trent Goodrich '16, bringing the packed crowd to its feet.
"He had many good at bats today," Whalen said. "He crushed that ball, which really created some length for us in the lineup."
While the 3-1 victory clinched the divisional title for the Big Green, Dartmouth continued to apply the pressure and took the afternoon game 8-0.
Hunter pitched seven innings of shutout baseball and left the game with a 6-0 lead, thanks to a big four-run fourth inning.
"Kyle Hunter does what Kyle Hunter does," Whalen said. "He gets to both sides of the plate and he gets to change planes."
As opposed to a fastball-heavy pitcher such as Sulser, Hunter's changeup allows him to manipulate the strike zone and achieve late game strikeouts.
"As you saw today, we pitched more up-and-down with him than more in and out and that's typically what we try and do," Whalen said. "Because he has such a good changeup he had the ability to expand the strike zone up and down."
Dartmouth's big offensive surge of the day came in the fourth inning, when Purritano and Goodrich each had RBI singles and MacDowell added an RBI sacrifice fly.
Parisi also added an RBI in the fourth inning to finish three for five.
"Everything has been a lot different this year," the sophomore Parisi said. "Last year was kind of a blur to me, because I wasn't really involved with things that much. It's just everything is totally different and I'm really grateful to have an opportunity to go play for these guys."
Despite already knowing the details of the Ivy League championship, Dartmouth continued their solid play and swept both Sunday games down in Cambridge 4-2 and 9-4.
"It's encouraging to see us play pretty well even when we didn't have to," Jeff Keller '14 said. "I think the team always picks up its focus as the year goes on and this year is no different."
In the opener, Dartmouth's three-run fourth inning gave starter Mitch Horacek '14 a 3-1 lead, which was enough to eventually notch the 4-1 victory.
In the fourth inning, small-ball singles, pop flies and Crimson throwing errors generated all three Dartmouth runs.
While Horacek surrendered a run in the sixth inning, the junior pitcher rebounded in the seventh to retire three straight batters and end the game.
Keller praised Horacek's efforts on the mound to always put the team in a position to win.
"Mitch threw really well I thought," he said. "He's so consistent. He always gives up a few hits but usually nothing too hard and not a lot of runs."
Horacek has been the only non-senior weekend starter for the Big Green this season.
In the final game of the series, Dartmouth took a 2-1 lead before sealing the sweep with a four-run seventh inning and three-run eighth inning to win 9-4.
Senior backup catcher Chad Piersma '13 started off the inning with a double to right center and subsequently scored on co-captain Keller's sacrifice fly.
Dustin Selzer '14, a cornerstone of the Big Green's lineup, then singled in two RBI's and later came around to score on Purritano's RBI single to center field.
Senior Michael Johnson '13, who, along with Hunter and Sulser, will most likely start in the Ivy League championship series next week, shut down the Crimson after giving up a run in the first inning.
Johnson finished with six innings pitched, three hits and one earned run.
After reliever Louis Concato '14 pitched the seventh inning unscathed, the righty gave up two doubles to start the eighth and was charged with three runs.
Thomas Olson '15 recorded the final six outs, retiring the side in order in the ninth inning.
Dartmouth will now prepare for their sixth straight Ivy League title series.
"As much as you have to get information to attack your opponent and all that stuff, one of the things I've always felt, one of the things in our program has been to focus on our team," Whalen said. "And if our kids play to the best of our ability, I feel like we have a chance to win."
Earlier this year, Dartmouth beat Columbia 3-2 and 7-4 away in New York.
"Just maintain our form," Parisi said, when asked about any changes in the team's preparation this week. "Just go out there and play baseball like we know how to nothing different."
Keller was similarly confident, noting that the team had seen the championship series as their main goal from the start of the season.
"This is where we expected to be," he said. "Sometimes we take for granted how special it is to even get to the championship series. But we're looking forward to it and I'm hoping to have a different result than the last two."
For now, though, the team and the seniors will savor the last week of the most successful four years in program history.
"This four-year career goes pretty fast, and you need to enjoy things when they come your way," Whalen said. "All four years they have played for the Ivy championship and I know, and have tried to remind them, when they're my age, it'll mean even more to them than it does now, and I know it means a lot to them now."
