The Dartmouth baseball team split a doubleheader against host Cornell University in its first pair of Ivy League games, dropping the first game 3-2 and coming back to win the second game, 5-4, in extra-innings. Yet for the second time last week, the Big Green (4-10, 1-1 Ivy) was forced to postpone its second set of games due to the weather, as the Sunday doubleheader at Princeton University was rescheduled to Tuesday afternoon.
“I think the first game was and always is very competitive,” co-captain Jeff Keller ’14 said. “I think we played really well, we just didn’t get that big hit.”
The team continues to struggle with hitting but remains unconcerned about long-term effects, focusing on batting in practice, Nick Lombardi ’15 said.
“I think that detailed approach that we have will help us in the next week or two,” he said. “We’re really going back to the fundamentals of the swing, timing, every aspect that could lead to lack of success at the plate.”
The team looks to capitalize on its proven power and talent in the line up as it moves forward, Keller said.
Dartmouth is returning some of the League’s best hitters this season, including Keller, who led the Ivy League last season in slugging percentage (.702), runs scored (39), RBIs (41), doubles (21), triples (4) and total bases (99). Other returning standout hitters from last season include power-position hitter Joe Purritano ’16, the second highest slugger (.593) on the team, leadoff hitter Matt Parisi ’15, who led the team with 55 hits and Lombardi, who was second on the team with 39 RBIs.
In the first game this weekend, Beau Sulser ’16 went 6.2 innings on the mound, allowing just seven hits and one walk while striking out three. Cornell’s first run came in the third inning with two outs, but Dartmouth got on the board in the top of the fourth when Nick Ruppert ’16 scored off a single by Dustin Selzer ’14 and a wild throw by the Cornell third baseman. The Big Red put up its second run in the fourth off a home run by Chris Cruz, Cornell’s (8-8, 1-1 Ivy) team leader in home runs last season.
“Cornell has a great middle of the order,” Keller said. “They’ve got a lot of power in their lineup.”
Dartmouth’s last run of the game came in the fifth when Purritano singled to center to drive in Keller, who had reached on a triple to right center. The tying run, however, wouldn’t be enough to carry the team through the bottom of the seventh, when Cornell scored the game-winning run with two outs.
Dartmouth left nine runners on base in the seven inning game, which, Keller said, represents a positive aspect of the team’s performance.
“It’s always an emphasis to get guys on base,” he said. “We just needed the big hit, and we didn’t get it. We knew we could’ve won that game. We were competitive the whole time.”
Dartmouth took revenge when it beat the Big Red in the subsequent nine-inning game, which extended to 11 frames.
A victory after a loss, co-captain Selzer said, is almost more impressive and positive than a sweep would have been.
“To get that win was huge, especially coming back from the 3-0 deficit,” he said. “It was very tough for us to turn around and get this next one. I think it’s a testament to the character of the team that we are able to come back and get that victory immediately following a loss on another team’s home field.”
Cornell quickly built a 3-0 advantage, but the Big Green scored four runs on a collaborative effort that included four singles and a pair of walks in the seventh.
After Cornell tied the game in the bottom of the eighth, both teams fought for the final run, which came for Dartmouth in the top of the 11th. Duncan Robinson ’16 stifled the Big Red lineup for the last five innings, allowing just one run on three hits.
Louis Concato ’14, the Dartmouth starter, and Robinson took on the depth of Cornell’s pen, pitching the 11 innings against Cornell’s five pitchers.
“Of course depth is always a good thing,” Selzer said, “but we’ve got a great and talented staff this year, and I’ve got all the confidence in them.”
The team has stayed in New Jersey and will play Princeton in a doubleheader Tuesday afternoon.
