Columbia
DARTMOUTH (Game 2)
Ivy League Championship to be Decided Sunday at 1 p.m.; Lions Win Opener, Big Green Takes Game Two
5/8/2010 3:00:00 PM | Baseball
NEW YORK -- Behind a five-run first inning and an outstanding complete-game performance by Pat Lowery, Columbia won the opener of the Ivy League Championship Series, 13-2.
Down 4-0 in the second game, Columbia rallied to take a 9-5 lead in the fifth but Dartmouth scored three times in its half of the fifth, added three more in the sixth and held on for a 15-10 win at a windy Robertson Field to split the day's doubleheader.
Tied at 1-1 apiece, the series will come down to a decisive third game on Sunday, May 9 at 1 p.m. at Robertson Field.
Game 1
After Pat Lowery retired the Dartmouth side in order in the top of the first, Jon Eisen sparked a five-run first inning for the Lions against Dartmouth ace Kyle Hendricks.
Eisen lined a triple into the right field corner with one out and scored on an RBI single by Jason Banos. With winds swirling upwards of 40 miles per hour, Alexander Aurrichio followed with a wind-blown single to short left center.
Two batters later, Dario Pizzano clocked a three-run home run to put the Lions ahead, 4-0. Alex Ferrera then repeated the turn with a solo homer to push the Columbia advantage to 5-0.
Dartmouth returned the favor in the second inning when Jake Carlson and Zack Bellenger went back-to-back with consecutive solo homers to cut the deficit to 5-2.
Lowery and Hendricks each settled in after that. Hendricks retired six straight after Eisen dropped down a bunt single with two out in the fourth, while Lowery did not allow another Dartmouth hit until there were two outs in the seventh.
Hendricks got the first two outs in the fourth but then the Lions struck for two more runs to extend their lead to 7-2. Billy Rumpke singled with two outs and Hendricks then walked Nick Crucet on four pitches.
Already 2-for-2 on the day, Eisen's bat stayed hot as he drilled a two-run double the other way into the left field corner.
Columbia chased Hendricks in the fifth with six runs on five hits. Aurrichio was hit by a pitch to start the frame and Nick Ferraresi chopped a double down the third base line to put both runners in scoring position. Pizzano then picked up his fourth and fifth runs batted in of the game with a two-run single, making it a 9-2 game.
Ferrera singled and Forthun drew a walk to load the bases for Rumpke, who pulled a single through the hole into left field to make it 10-2 Columbia.
Hendricks exited and Ben Murray entered in relief. Murray hit Crucet with a 1-1 pitch to force in another run. Eisen followed with a fly ball down the left field line that Sam Bean charged in to grab. Bean then fired home on the fly to nab Forthun at the plate for the double play.
Banos drew a four-pitch walk to load the bases again for Aurrichio, who led off the inning. Aurrichio then capped the inning's scoring by lining a two-run single into left center, giving Columbia a 13-2 lead.
Meanwhile, Lowery cruised through seven innings but had to get Jim Wren looking at a called strike three to get out of a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the eighth.
Dartmouth loaded the bases again in the ninth but Lowery got Brett Gardner to bounce into a 5-4-3 double play started by Eisen at third to end the game, giving Columbia the game one victory.
Game 2
The winds picked up in the nightcap as Dartmouth struck first. Batting as the home team in game two, the Big Green dented the scoreboard on an RBI double by Chris O'Dowd, who was 4-for-4 with five RBI in the second game. Jason Brooks then grounded a two-out single the other way to plate O'Dowd, giving Dartmouth a 2-0 advantage after one inning.
In the second, Brett Gardner's two-run homer made it 4-0 but the Lions would come back in the third on a pair of solo home runs.
Nick Crucet connected for his first collegiate homer, driven over the right field wall. Two batters later, Jason Banos drove his fifth home run of the season over the center field fence with two outs, cutting the Dartmouth lead in half, 4-2.
After Bracey held Dartmouth scoreless in the third, Columbia tied the game in its half of the fourth. Dario Pizzano, who had four hits in game two, doubled with one out and scored when Alex Ferrera followed with a double of his own on the first pitch he saw.
Dean Forthun blooped a single to center that put runners on the corners and Billy Rumpke knotted the score with a single the other way into right.
With the game tied at 4-4 in the bottom of the fourth, Bracey retired the first two batters in the frame before he hit Brett Gardner with a pitch. Gardner stole second and scored when Joe Sclafani lofted a fly ball that would have gone foul on another day but the wind blew the ball back into fair territory as it dropped in down the left field for a run-scoring single, making it 5-4.
Columbia's five-run fifth gave the Lions a 9-5 advantage. Eisen was the catalyst, starting the inning with a double down the left field line. Eisen moved to third on a groundout and Alexander Aurrichio ripped an 0-2 curveball into right field to tie the game at 5-5.
The Lions then strung together a two-out rally when Pizzano's fly ball dropped in with the benefit of the wind and Ferrera followed with a sharp single into left field to put Columbia ahead for the first time in the game, 6-5.
Forthun then drilled the first pitch he saw over the center field fence for a three-run home run, giving the Lions a 9-5 advantage, sending the partisan crowd into hysterics.
Dartmouth did not sit back, however, and scored three times in its half of the fifth, chasing Bracey from the game. The Big Green strung together four straight doubles to start the inning to make it a 9-7 game.
Geoff Whitaker entered in relief and stemmed the tide, allowing another run to cross but the Lions maintained a 9-8 edge after five.
The game moved to the bullpens as Cole Sulser came on to start the sixth in relief of Dartmouth starter Robert Young. Sulser got the Lions in order in the sixth and Dartmouth moved ahead in the bottom of the frame.
With runners at the corners and one out due to a single, stolen base and Columbia error, O'Dowd drove a 2-2 pitch over the right field wall, putting Dartmouth ahead, 11-9.
Columbia got the first two men on base in the seventh but Sulser retired Pizzano on a hard-hit line drive for the first out, then got a strikeout and groundout to end the inning.
After Whitaker tossed a 1-2-3 seventh, Columbia again got the first two runners aboard in the eighth. Rumpke worked out a leadoff walk after he found himself down 0-2 in the count and Crucet followed with a single just past the glove of second baseman Jeff Onstott.
Eisen laid down a textbook sacrifice bunt to put runners in scoring position for Banos with one out. On a 2-2 pitch, Banos grounded one down to thrid base. Rumpke came home to score as Bellenger threw across for the second out. Seeing the third baseman off the bag, Crucet rounded second and made a dash for third but Brooks alertly fired to Sclafani covering third base and Crucet was tagged out to end the inning with Columbia still trailing by a run.
In the eighth, Dartmouth loaded the bases with one out for Jim Wren. Down 1-2, Wren lofted a fly ball to center that sailed over the center field fence for a grand slam, giving Dartmouth a 15-10 lead.
Ryan Smith came on to pitch the ninth for Dartmouth and worked around a two-out single to seal the win for the Big Green, setting the stage for Sunday's rubber game of the series.
First pitch for game three on Sunday, May 9 will be at 1 p.m. at Robertson Field. Admission is free and the game can be seen FREE online at gocolumbialions.com. Live stats are also available.
NOTES:
- Winds were blowing so fiercely on Saturday that near the end of game two, the American flag was knocked from its perch along the third base line of the field.
- In the opener, Pat Lowery allowed eight hits and two runs, both in the second, of the nine-inning complete game. It was his fourth complete game of the season as he threw 113 pitches, walked two and struck out seven to improve his record to 5-3 on the year.
- Dario Pizzano was 6-for-9 with four runs scored in the doubleheader. Alex Ferrera was 5-for-10 with four runs scored, Alexander Aurrichio was 4-for-9 with three runs batted in and Jon Eisen was 5-for-9 with two runs scored and two RBI. Eisen was just a home run short of the cycle in game one.
- The last three Ivy League championship series have been decided in three games. Two years ago, Columbia won game one before Dartmouth won game two. The Lions then captured the deciding third game, 7-5, to win their first Ivy League title in 31 years.
