By Lauren Dellipoali, Johns Hopkins Athletics
The Basics
• Score: Johns Hopkins – 6, McDaniel - 1
• Records: JHU (12-9, 2-1) • McDaniel (6-7, 0-3)
• Location: Baltimore, MD • Babb Field at Stromberg Stadium
• Pitching Decision: W – Sean McCracken (4-1), L – Brad Thaxton (1-2), S – Nick Bodner (2)
• The Short Story: It was a milestone game for three members of the Johns Hopkins baseball team as Mike Smith knocked in his 100th career RBI and Tim Kutcher and Austin Sacks both hit their first collegiate home runs in the Blue Jays 6-1 victory over McDaniel.
How it Happened
• Zach Jaffe singled to center in the first and stole second with one out. A Mike Eberle single advanced Jaffe to third and he scored the first Blue Jay run of the day on a Chris DeGiacomo fielder's choice.
• Tom Daley took McCracken deep with one out in the second to tie the game at one. Two singles put runners on the corners with two outs for the Green Terror, but McCracken got Brett Anderson swinging to end the inning.
• Sacks led off the third with a homer to right to put JHU back in the lead. Dillon Bowman singled to center and Kutcher and Jaffe worked walks to load the bases, but Brad Thaxton got Eberle to fly out to end the frame.
• A single, a walk and a hit by pitch loaded the bases once again for Hopkins in the fifth and Sacks would knock in a run with a groundout to put Johns Hopkins up 3-1.
• Jaffe put Hopkins up by three with a ground rule double in sixth.
• Alex Darwiche led off the seventh with a triple to deep center and came around to score the fifth Blue Jay run on a Smith single. The RBI was the 100th in Smith's career.
• Kutcher welcomed new McDaniel pitcher Brandon Richmond with a homer to left to open up the eighth and put JHU up 6-1. The home run was the first for Kutcher as a Blue Jay.
• Bodner, who replaced McCracken in the seventh, retired the Green Terror in the ninth to give Hopkins the 6-1 victory.
Team Leaders
Johns Hopkins:
Hits: Kutcher, Jaffe, Eberle, Bowman (2)
RBI: Sacks (2)
Strikeouts: McCracken, Bodner (4)
McDaniel:
Hits: Antonio Rosanova (2)
RBI: Daly (1)
Strikeouts: Thaxton (5)
What it Means
• Hopkins is 32-3 at home against the Green Terror under head coach Bob Babb and hold an 89-61 advantage in the all-time series having won the last seven meetings.
• Smith becomes just the 25th player in team history to notch 100 RBI.
Inside the Box Score
• The Blue Jays outhit McDaniel by an 11-9 margin.
• McCracken and Bodner combined for eight strikeouts and no walks. McCracken went the first six, allowing eight hits, and one run with four strikeouts. Bodner went the final three innings allowing just one hit with four Ks.
• Four different Blue Jays had two hits in the game, while seven players got a hit in the game.
Up Next
• The Blue Jays head out on the road on Friday, April 6 to take on the Green Terror in the final game of the regular season series between the teams. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 pm.
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