So far this spring, bad weather has been the baseball team's toughest competitor.
While the Big Green are scheduled to host the University of Vermont in the home opener this afternoon, once again the forecast calls for rain. This past weekend, Dartmouth was forced to move its games against the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University to Wareham, Mass. due to unfit conditions at Red Rolfe Field.
Despite the shift in fields, the Dartmouth road warriors put an end to their four game Ivy League losing streak, winning all three games of the weekend. On Saturday the Big Green snatched both ends of a doubleheader from the Quakers, and on Sunday Dartmouth won the first of two against the Lions. The second game was called off because of rain.
In just over a week, the baseball team's hopes have been resurrected. Their record has gone from a dismal 2-10 (0-4 Ivy League) to a much more respectable 6-11 (3-4 Ivy) before yesterday's late game at Tufts University.
Mike Armstrong, one of Dartmouth's talented freshmen, hit a game-winning home run against Columbia. He said he believes there are tangible reasons for the team's sudden change in fortune.
"We came out hacking" this weekend, he said. "We were tired of losing. Before, we were close, but we couldn't get over the hump."
In fact, five of Dartmouth's 11 losses have been by one run, including a tough 15-14 defeat at Babson College last Thursday.
But according to Armstrong, things turned around this
weekend.
"Pitching-wise, defensively and hitting ... it just all flowed together," he said.
Curtis Jones '95 said he believes playing a couple of games last week was a big help in turning things around.
"We got to play a game against Lowell on Tuesday, and then lost a tough one [to Babson] on Thursday," he said.
The team's youth may have hurt the team early on, but Jones said he thinks it is only a positive influence now.
"Now that we've gotten used to each other, I think it's great," he said. "It's a very talented bunch of guys."
Meanwhile, in the first game against Penn on Saturday, Dartmouth did just as Armstrong said: they came out hacking. The Big Green put eight runs on the board in the first three innings, then rode the relief pitching of David Angeramo '94 to hold on for an 8-5 win.
Andrew Spencer '97, Travis Horton '96 and Greg Gilmer '96 each had two hits in that game. But the real drama was still to come.
In the second game against Penn, Dartmouth was down 9-3 after five and a half innings before coming up with two runs in the bottom of the sixth and seven runs in the bottom of the seventh to pull out a 12-9 victory and a sweep of the twin-bill.
The unlikely hero was Craig Pawling '96, a reserve outfielder. His two run single with two outs in the sixth cut the Penn lead to 9-5, but he was not finished.
RBI singles from Horton and Gilmer cut the lead down to two, 9-7, and Armstrong's two run single tied the game at nine. Jones was walked intentionally, setting the stage once again for Pawling.
Pawling turned on an inside pitch, and drove his first college home run just inside the right field foul pole, giving the Big Green an improbable comeback win. Pawling's home run left him four for five on the day, with five RBIs.
Sunday's game against Columbia was another opportunity for a come-from-behind victory, and the Big Green were not about to let it slip by.
Down 3-0 after an inning and a half, Dartmouth started to rally in the bottom of the second. Rusty Gaynes '97 was credited with an RBI when his infield out plated Horton. Then in the bottom of the third, Jake Isler '96 and Horton each added RBIs to tie the game at three.
In the bottom of the fourth, Armstrong and Simon Tripp '96 hit back-to-back home runs to give the Big Green a 5-3 win. Tripp's homer actually never left the park, but when it bounced off the top of the fence, the confused Columbia outfielders did not hurry to pick it up, clinching the win for the Big Green.
