The Basics
• Score: JHU – 7, Shenandoah - 3
• Records: JHU (35-11) • Shenandoah (35-15)
• Location: Baltimore, MD • Babb Field
• Pitching Decision: W – Preston Betz (4-2) • L – Reeves Lowry (4-5)
• The Short Story: The Johns Hopkins baseball team punched a ticket to the College World Series in Cedar Rapids, Iowa as the Blue Jays defeated Shenandoah, 7-3, on Saturday afternoon to sweep the best-of-three series.
How it Happened
• The Blue Jays, batting as the visitors, got on the board first in the top of the second as Nate Davis doubled to left to lead off the inning and Chris DeGiacomo followed with a double to right to plate Davis and make it a 1-0 game.
• After Henry Delavergne was hit by a pitch with one out in the third, Frankie Ritter brought him home with a two-run shot to left to give Shenandoah its first lead of the series at 2-1.
• Johns Hopkins responded with a four-run fourth to pull ahead 5-2. The Blue Jays worked the bases loaded on singles from Davis and DeGiacomo and a fielder's choice bunt by AJ King loaded the bases as the Hornets tried to get Davis at third, however, the ball came loose and Davis was called safe. Walks to Matthew Ritchie and Pete Manny plated two JHU runs and Mike Eberle followed with a two-out single to right to score King and Ritchie and give the Blue Jays a 5-2 lead.
• Keegan Woolford brought the Hornets to within two with an RBI single in the fifth, but Preston Betz, who entered the game for Sean McCracken, got the final two outs of the inning to leave two Hornets on base and keep the score at 5-3.
• Kutcher and Eberle gave JHU two insurance runs in the top of the eight as their RBI singles made it a 7-3 JHU lead.
• Grant Thompson walked to lead off the bottom of the ninth but Betz got a pop up for the first out and struck out Pearce Bucher looking for out number two. Ritter then popped a ball into foul territory down the third base side which Ritchie caught to end the game and send the Blue Jays to Iowa with a 7-3 win.
Team Leaders
Johns Hopkins:
Hits: Eberle, Davis, King - 2
RBI: Eberle - 3
Strikeouts: Betz - 5
Shenandoah:
Hits: Ritter - 2
RBI: Ritter - 2
Strikeouts: Matt Barnes - 5
What it Means
• This is Hopkins fourth trip to the College World Series and the third in last 12 years.
• JHU pitching has yet to allow a run in the ninth inning in the month of May.
Inside the Box Score
• Eberle went 2-5 with three RBIs and now ranks tied for second on the team with 44 RBIs this season. Davis also went 2-5 in the game and is third on the team in batting as he is hitting .331 this season. King also got two hits in the game for Hopkins.
• McCracken went the first 4.1 for JHU allowing five hits and three runs. He walks two and struck out one. Betz came in for the games final 4.2 and gave up just one single and a walk. He struck out five in the game to bring his season total to 39 and his career total to 148.
Up Next
• The Blue Jays now head to the College World Series in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
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