June 3, 2023

Johns Hopkins advances, gets Sunday off

More news about: Baldwin Wallace | Johns Hopkins
Shawn Steurer drove in six runs, five of them in the sixth and seventh innings.
By Doug Sasse, d3photography.com | Photos from this game
 

By Pat Coleman
D3sports.com

Cedar Rapids, Iowa - Johns Hopkins, the top seed in the tournament and the No. 1 team in the country in the D3baseball.com Top 25, will be getting a day of rest on Sunday, as the Blue Jays defeated Baldwin Wallace 10-6 on Saturday to improve to 2-0 at the Division III baseball World Series.

The day off for a 2-0 team is a new feature of the championship schedule. Johns Hopkins will advance to Monday and awaits the survivor of Baldwin Wallace and Misericordia, who will play on Sunday at 11 a.m. CT.

The winner on Monday advances to the best-of-three Division III Championship Series, which starts Wednesday after another day off in the schedule.

Shawn Steurer had a pair of big hits, mashing two balls deep into the left-center in back-to-back innings, driving in three runs in the sixth with a double and two more with another double in the seventh to do the big damage for the Blue Jays (46-5).

JHU scored four in the sixth and three in the seventh to turn a 3-2 lead into a 10-4 advantage. The Blue Jays loaded the bases on a walk and two singles, setting up Steurer’s first big blast.

"We knew we were gonna have to score because that's a very good offensive team that we played against," said Johns Hopkins coach Bob Babb. "And fortunately we had a couple big innings, a couple big hits from a couple of these guys to my left."

Before the Blue Jays could come back to the plate, however, there were some tense moments. With two runs already in for Baldwin Wallace, Nick Clark lofted a tweener fly ball into short right field. JHU second baseman Jimmy Stevens ran out for the ball while right fielder Alex Shane ran in with the same intensity. At the last second, Shane ducked and tried to brake, but ran into Stevens, flipping Stevens over the top of him and sending Stevens’ sunglasses flying.

Somehow, Stevens not only caught the ball but held onto it for the third out, while Shane lay face down on the grass for a few minutes. Shane was able to walk off under his own power after being tended to by the medical staff.

"He'll be on concussion protocol and it's a shame because you've seen how hot he is and what kind of hitter he is, particularly for a freshman," said Babb. He's just been outstanding ever since we put him in the leadoff spot. So that's our second key outfielder that now we have out, but we're resilient and we'll put somebody else in there and I'm sure he'll do a fine job."

"I don't know (how I held onto the ball)," Stevens said. "I sort of don't remember; I just kind of blacked out."

Stevens came up to start the next inning and smacked a single into right field which got past the right fielder, allowing Stevens to go all the way to third. Dylan Whitney walked, reaching base for the fourth time in four plate appearances. Pinch-hitter Jake Siani squeezed a run home to make it 8-4. Dillon Souvignier singled and Steurer launched his second deep ball to left-center, driving in his fifth and sixth runs of the day, making it 10-4.

It's not just one thing," Steurer said of a start to the tournament in which he has driven in 10 runs in two games. "I was just seeing the ball well. I've just tried to do the same things the last couple months or so, and whatever's worked, I've just kept trying to do the same thing -- just focusing on batting practice, just finding a barrel and then bringing that same simple approach to the game, like loose hands."

JHU's No. 3 starter, Matt Savedoff, came on in relief to finish the game for the Blue Jays, throwing 42 pitches to get the final five outs. Savedoff was credited with the victory.

Despite the extended outing, Savedoff could still come back and pitch on Monday, Babb said.

"I'll see how he feels, but more than likely, yeah. This would've been a bullpen day. He probably threw more than we would've liked him to throw. But winning this game, knowing we had tomorrow off if we won, we thought whoever was best should be in there."

"He throws hard," Baldwin Wallace coach Brian Harrison said. "He's got a nice two-seamer that runs in on guys's hands and then he throws on plane and throws a slider the other way. I thought we had some really patient at bats and made him work a little bit, so if we do get an opportunity to see him, I think it's kind of an advantage to us.

The new format favors the 2-0 team, but it also makes Sunday a little easier for the remaining teams, as Baldwin Wallace and Misericordia will only play one game on Sunday. 

"I think the format now just is so much better," said Harrison. "You can lose a game and still come out and get into the championship bracket."