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| Matt Savedoff pitched the No. 1 Johns Hopkins Blue Jays into the D3CS with a 8-1 win over the Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets. Photo by Doug Sass, d3photography.com | Photos for game one | Photos for game two |
By Jim Dixon
D3baseball.com
Cedar Rapids, Iowa - Turnabout is fair play. The Yellow Jackets opened up a short lead and hung on the winin game one. In game two between the two teams, it was Johns Hopkins with the early lead who prevailed 8-2 at the 2023 DIII World Series being played on PG Cares Field at Veteran's Memorial stadium. With the win the Blue Jays advance to play in the D3 Championship Series.
"Our guys are resilient and confident." said Johns Hopkins head coach Bob Babb. "We feel like we can win anytime we step onto the field. Savedoff was incredible today. We were very glad to be the visitors in the second game. We thought if we can score first and put a little pressure on them. Matt led with the double and we got him in and added on. At some point in the game we will put up a crooked number and once we did that we were in good shape."
"Things did not go our way," said Baldwin Wallace head coach Brian Harrison. "We battled and had a few opportunities. It took a guy with 150 pitches and a complete game. I liked the way our kids competed."
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Earlier, Baldwin Wallace forced a second bracket one winners game with a 6-3 win.
"We did not swing the bats well in the first game," said Babb. "Our young pitchers struggled. If [Cooper] hit the ball another inch, we do not have the second game"
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Like the earlier game, the winning pitcher was a big part of the win. Matt Savedoff pitched a complete game win for the Blue Jays. he allowed two runs on nine hits and three walk, He struckout seven.
"I though it was a good outing," said Savedoff. "I should have been more efficirent with my pitches, 150 is a lot. I justdid everything to get the win."
GAME TWO
Johns Hopkins, playing as visitors, opened the scoring with a run in the first inning. Matthew Cooper got his first extra-base hit of the tournament with a double to left. Base hits by Dillon Souvignier and Shawn Steuerer resulted in the opening run of the game.
Johns Hopkins added another run that started with Cooper's second double of the afternoon. A ground out moved him to third where he scored on a wild pitch.
Baldwin Wallace ruined the shutout with a run in their half of the third. Vincent Capolupo reached on a fielders choice and scored on a single by Luke Vanderhaar.
Johns Hopkins added one in the fifth and two in the sixth. Dylan Whitney singled and stole second in the fifth. Souvignier single and was out stretching the hit to a double. Whitney had already touched home before he was tagged out. In the sixth Caleb Cyr doubled down the left field line to score Sam Frank and Tripp Myers.
Johns Hopkins scored three runs in the eight to extend their lead to 8-1. Sam Frank opened the inning with a single and was followed by a walk to Tripp Myers. Jimmy Stevens drove in Frank and Whitney plated Myers and Stevens with a double.
Baldwin Wallace plated their second run in the eight. Back-to-back hits by Nick Clark and Ryan Guggenheim allowed Clark to double the Yellow Jacket's run total.
This is the first D3CS appearance for the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays since the format was adopted.
Baldwin Wallace ends their season 38-12
GAME ONE
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| Kade Swisher saved the Baldwin Wallace bullpen for the second bracket one championship game with a complete game win. Photo by Steve Frommell, d3photography.com |
Baldwin Wallace got the runs they needed, Kade Swisher shut down a potent Johns Hopkins offense, and Vincent Capolupo made a game saving catch to extend the Yellow Jackets season one more game.
Swisher pitched a complete game, saving the bullpen for the late game. He allowed three runs on nine hits and two walks. He struckout six.
"The first game was incredible," said Harrison. "Kade Swisher put us on his back. A complete game are you kidding me. It was a dominating performance."
Johns Hopkins was down three runs in the eighth inning with the bases loaded when Matthew Cooper sent a drive to the deepest part of the park that Capolupo tracked down to end the inning and preserve the three run lead.
Seven player had hits for the Yellow Jackets with Sean Kolenich with a team high two hits.
Baldwin Wallace opened the scoring as they stole a run in the first. Kolenich, who doubled to left, came home on a wild pitch. The pitcher was late in covering the plate and the catcher fielded the ball a couple feet from the plate and lunged but was late as Kolenich slide ahead of the tag.
The Yellow Jackets added another in the second. Ryan Guggenheim opened the inning with a single to right. and after a base-on-balls to Andrew Parker, was sacrificed 90 feet. Matt Terzola's fly ball was deep enough to plate Guggenheim.
Three more runs were put on the scoreboard by BW, one in the fourth and two in the fifth. Capolupo tripled in the fourth to drive home Terzola. In the fifth, Luke Vanderhaar and Nick Clark walked. Miscues allowed them both to reach third base with Vanderhaar scoring on a sac fly and Clark on a single by Parker.
Johns Hopkins got on the board in the sixth. Three straight extra-base hits broke the shutout. Dillon Souvignier doubled to left center and scored on Shawn Steuerer's triple down the right line. Steurer scored on Sam Frank's double to right.
Johns Hopkins made it a two run game with a run in the seventh. Sam Browning came in to hit for Jake Siani and was plunked by Swisher. Following a walk to Copper, Steuerer singled him home for the final Johns Hopkins run.