Dartmouth, BC in foreign territory
The coming-out party for Dartmouth will be in Chapel Hill, N.C.
For Boston College, it will be in Austin, Texas.
Where it goes after that is the question.
For both the Big Green and the Eagles' baseball teams, this weekend is new territory. This time of year, the baseball equipment usually is packed away for Dartmouth and BC. It has been decades - 37 years for BC and 22 for Dartmouth - since either team played in an NCAA regional.
That changes today when Dartmouth takes on host North Carolina in a regional that includes Coastal Carolina and Kansas in the double-elimination round. Coach Bob Whalen's Big Green are the No. 4 seed going up against the top-seeded Tar Heels (42-16), who are ranked fourth in the country and have made it to the College World Series in Omaha the past three years.
Dartmouth (27-16) will face sophomore righthander Matt Harvey, who is 6-2 with 75 strikeouts in 64 1/3 innings.
Dartmouth will not be intimidated by this home-field combination and a towering opponent. The Big Green have won 52 games the past two years after bouncing back from a 8-29 season in 2007.
Whalen, who has been at Dartmouth for 20 years, has steadily rebuilt the Big Green - who beat Cornell to capture the Ivy League title - into a force, if not a national contender, led by junior right fielder Nick Santomauro, who was the Ivy League Player of the Year this season (.365 average, 8 home runs, 40 RBIs). Seven other Dartmouth players hit better than .300 for an offense that put enough runs on the board to allow closer Ryan Smith to set a school record for saves this season (11) and for a career (18).
BC (33-24) takes on Texas State (41-15) in a regional that includes top-seeded Texas and Army, which will play in the other half of today's doubleheader.
Texas (41-13-1) looms as the major force in the region, but Texas State has been an offensive force. Led by senior outfielder Spenser Dennis, who hit a sizzling .408, the Bobcats have answers for every pitching staff - the starting lineup hit .336 and first baseman Paul Goldschmidt hit 17 home runs and drove in 85 runs. Texas State's pitching staff, led by Kane Holbrooks (10-1, 3.34 ERA), gave almost everyone problems.
None of this bothers the Eagles, who are in "happy to be there" mode since arriving in Texas Wednesday.
"To tell you the truth, it doesn't matter who we play," said BC's Tony Sanchez, who will catch JB MacDonald (5-7, 4.70 ERA). "We're going down there on a mission to succeed."
If the Eagles win, they will advance to the winners' bracket tomorrow, most likely to face Texas. All the Longhorns have is home-field advantage, the No. 1 overall seed in the 64-team field, six national championships (the last in 2005), and the highest winning percentage in NCAA baseball history.
They are also hungry, having been knocked off in three straight regionals.
"Great tradition, great setting," said BC coach Mik Aoki. "But we feel we can compete against anyone."
For BC and Dartmouth, the competition begins today.
Mark Blaudschun can be reached at blaudschun@globe.com. 