AP Sports Preview: Manhattan at Dartmouth

HANOVER, N.H. (Interstat) — Dartmouth hosts Manhattan in the opener of a Saturday doubleheader at Red Rolfe Field at Biondi Park, with the Big Green holding a slight edge in Interstat’s projections for the game between two struggling teams.

First pitch is scheduled for under clouds and 54-degree temperatures.

Dartmouth (12-22) enters with a 53.60 percent probability to win, according to Interstat’s ELO system, which projects a 5-4 final score. The Big Green snapped a three-game skid Wednesday with a 4-3 win over Merrimack. Right-hander Trey Sejnoha earned the win, tossing five shutout innings with four hits allowed and six strikeouts. Sejnoha has been effective in his recent outings, allowing no earned runs in three of his last four appearances. He threw 2.2 scoreless innings against Holy Cross on April 21 and worked 1.2 scoreless innings in a win at Harvard on April 17.

Manhattan (15-23) has lost four of its last five games, most recently an 8-5 defeat to Canisius on Sunday. Right-hander Joseph Duffield took the loss, allowing two earned runs on four hits over 4.2 innings with two strikeouts. Duffield has been steady if not dominant, posting a 0.00 ERA in a 3.0-inning win over Siena on April 12, but he allowed two earned runs in 4.2 innings in a loss at Rider on April 18. The Jaspers will rely on Duffield to keep them in the game against a Dartmouth lineup that produced four runs in its last win.

The Jaspers’ offense showed signs of life in the series against Canisius. Justin Best went 2 for 3 with a home run and an RBI in Sunday’s loss. Manhattan took two of three from Canisius, including a 7-5 win Friday, but has struggled on the road, dropping games at La Salle, Rider and Stony Brook this month.

Dartmouth’s Chris Miller drove in a run in the win over Merrimack, going 1 for 3. The Big Green have been inconsistent, splitting a doubleheader with Princeton on April 25 before losing the series finale.

The doubleheader marks the first two games of a weekend series. The teams meet again Sunday before Manhattan travels to NJIT on Tuesday. Dartmouth hosts Yale next weekend.