Newly Renovated Red Rolfe Field at Biondi Park (Photo Courtesy of Dartmouth Media Relations)
The Brown Bears head to Hanover NH for a key Ivy League matchup against the Dartmouth Big Green. Brown enters the series with a 12-12-1 overall record while being 7-1 in Ivy League play. Dartmouth has an overall record of 11-9 and 8-0 in Ivy League play after sweeping the Gehrig Division.
The Brown offense has been solid this season as they are hitting at a .303 clip as a team. They are led on offense by Dan Shapiro who leads the team with a .376 average while hitting two homers and driving in 12 runs. Pete Greskoff is second on the squad with a .345 average while being tied for the team lead with six homers. Robert Papenhouse continues his strong career with the Bears as he has a .337 average with five homers and 23 RBI. Steve Daniels has been a terror on the base paths as he has a batting average of .327 but has 16 stolen bases in 18 attempts. Daniels has been even better in Ivy League play as he has hit .500 in the first eight games with five homers and 10 RBI.
The biggest issue for the Bears has been the pitching staff which has a staff ERA of 6.99 on the year. The best starting pitcher has been Rob Wilcox who is 1-1 with a 5.91 ERA. Mark Gormley is 3-1 with a 6.75 ERA. The rest of the weekend staff is rounded out by Josh Feit who is 1-2 with an 8.88 ERA while Will Weidig is 0-5 with an ERA of 11.57. Matthew Kimball has been serving as the closer this season as he is 1-2 with an ERA of 4.03 while getting six saves on the year.
Dartmouth won the Red Rolfe Division and really has made a statement the first few weeks of Ivy League play by going 8-0. They feature an offense that has a team batting average of .294. They are led by Nick Santomauro who is hitting .387 with five homers and 17 RBI. Freshman sensation Joe Sclafini is second on the squad with a .354 average. Mike Pagliarulo (.349 BA), Ray Allen (.339 BA), and Johnathan Santopadre (.338 BA) are the other members of the Big Green squad with batting averages above .300.
Robert Young will start Game 1 on Saturday as he has a 2-2 record with an ERA of 5.88 in his five starts in the season. Ben Murray will start Game 2 on Saturday as he sports a 3-1 record with an ERA of 4.66. Dartmouth will send two freshmen to the mound on Sunday afternoon. In Game 1, they will give the ball to Kyle Hendricks who is 2-2 with a 4.65 ERA. In Game 2, the Big Green will send Cole Sulser to the hill as he is 2-1 with an ERA of 8.71.
I hope that some of my readers can get out to this huge series this weekend as I will not be able to make the trek up to Hanover. If you would like to send us some pictures or thoughts on the series feel free. My email address can be accessed by clicking here.
