Alumni weekend saw the Bulldogs lose three of four games, but fans and baseball alumni also saw head coach John Stuper notch his 334th career win, giving him the all-time Yale record.

The two doubleheaders against Dartmouth were characterized by high scores and hitting. Yale (12-18, 6-8) won the first game 4-1, but the team lost to the Big Green (17-11, 12-2 Ivy) in the next three: 12-9, 13-2, and 17-8.

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The weekend’s first win put Stuper ahead of Ethan Allen for all-time career wins. Allen was Yale Baseball’s head coach from 1946 to 1968, and after 17 years of coaching, Stuper has now surpassed the legendary coach.

“It’s a tremendous accomplishment,” captain Stefan Schropp ’09 said. “Coach Stuper is a very humble person and won’t tell you how important it is, but this is one of the most storied programs in college baseball.”

Schropp added: “He’s always a competitor, but one of the classiest coaches in the Ivy League. He looks after his players with unwavering care.”

STRONG OPENING FOR YALE

The first game of the Dartmouth series opened with a bang on Saturday as lead batter Schropp hit a homer out over the center field fence.

Pitcher Brandon Josselyn ’09 foiled the Big Green until the fifth inning, when they scored a run off a series of singles. Josselyn threw nine strikeouts in his seven innings on the mound, and he only allowed three hits in 26 batters faced.

“Brandon Josselyn did such a great job setting the tone,” Chris Walsh ’09 said. “While Dartmouth is strong, he showed that we can play with them any day and any time.”

In the bottom of the first, the Elis saw their second home run of the game as Andrew Moore ’11 hit one over the left field fence. Shortstop Matt Schmidt ’12 and Schropp each followed with a double. The inning ended 3-1.

Yale added another run to the board in the sixth inning with doubles from Andy Megee ’11 and infielder Zach Tobolowsky ’12. Unable to come back in the top of the seventh, Dartmouth lost 4-1 and sealed Stuper’s record-breaking win.

“It gives you that ‘Believe in yourself’ mentality,” Walsh said of the opening win.

In Saturday’s second game, Dartmouth’s bats woke up late in the game — but to dizzying effect.

After starting with a run in the first inning, the Bulldogs quickly added three more off three hits and two Big Green errors in the second. By the third, the Bulldogs led 7-1.

But Dartmouth began to dig themselves out with two-run innings in both the fourth and fifth innings.

The Elis scored again in the sixth inning as Schropp’s double sent Matt Schmidt ’12 home, but Dartmouth added another two in the eighth inning and ran away with four runs in the ninth inning that Yale’s single final inning run couldn’t beat.

“Dartmouth is obviously the class of the Ivy League right now,” pitcher Walsh said. “They swing the bats well up and down the line-up. Top to bottom, they have a number of good players. They rely on their offense to carry the load, and the pitching isn’t bad. They make you hit to beat them.”

DARTMOUTH BATS COME ALIVE

Sunday morning began with a 13-2 loss to the Big Green.

Dartmouth opened with a three-run homer by Mike Pagliarulo in the first.

By the top of the third inning, the Big Green managed to add another eight runs to their total.

Yale tried to respond, but the RBI from Schropp in the third inning just was not enough. With two men on base, the outfielder hit the ball to the second baseman and was thrown out, but he received a single RBI.

Each team added a run in the fifth inning, but the Blue, unable to bounce back from the 13-2 deficit, lost after the bottom of the seventh inning.

“It was great to beat the in the first game — they were first in our conference,” Schmidt said. “But again today, we realized how good a hitting team they were. Once our pitchers showed any weakness, they jumped on it.”

In the second game, the Bulldogs were able to get their bats moving again, but were unable to top the Big Green’s hitting power. The game ended a 17-8 Dartmouth win.

“It was nice going out — to battle and keep the team in the game as long as possible,” said Walsh, who pitched 2.2 innings in the first game. “There’s not much else you can do but go out and attack those guys.”

Dartmouth took the honor of first run this time with a run in the second inning. Yale put their first on the board in the third inning was Ryan Brenner ’12 singled and then stole home on an error.

The Big Green got four runs in the fourth inning and three in the fifth inning before Yale fought back with a five-inning rally in the fifth. Not to be thwarted, Dartmouth scored another three in the sixth inning and two more in the seventh inning.

The Elis put their last two runs of the series on the board in the sixth inning. Dartmouth ended with a four-run inning in the ninth, and Yale could not rally at the end.

On Wednesday, the Bulldogs will hit the road and face the University of Hartford at 3:30 p.m.