HAVERFORD, PA – The Johns Hopkins baseball team opened up Centennial Conference play with a doubleheader against Haverford Saturday afternoon, winning Game 1, 12-3 before completing the weekend sweep of the Fords with a 10-1 Game 2 victory.
 
Game 1: Johns Hopkins 12, Haverford 3
 
The Blue Jays (14-6, 2-0 Centennial) won Game 1 almost exclusively via the long ball, hitting five home runs to blow the game open en route to the 12-3 victory. Neither side was able to get much going in the opening two innings before it Alex Shane got the show started in the third with the team's first homer in a game Hopkins never trailed.
 
Dylan Whitney opened the inning with a leadoff single for the Jays' second hit of the afternoon, setting up Shane to rip a two-run shot to center field to put Hopkins in front. Haverford (10-9, 0-2 Centennial) stole a run back on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the frame, making it a 2-1 game through three.
 
Both pitchers settled back in over the ensuing two innings before Hopkins put up crooked numbers in both the sixth and seventh innings to all but put the game out of reach.
 
Jimmy Stevens punched a one-out single through the left side to start the inning, advancing to second after Whitney drew a walk to put two on with two outs. Next up to the plate was Isaiah Winikur, who was held without a hit to that point but converted in a big moment, launching a three-run home run to left field to build the Blue Jays' lead to four.
 
The score would quickly balloon to 9-1 after a top-half of the seventh inning that saw Caleb Cyr, Shawn Steuerer and Stevens go yard, but a two-RBI double for the Fords spoiled the shutout performance by Kieren Collins and cut the deficit to six with two innings left.
 
Both sides threatened in the eighth before a trio of RBI walks drawn by Winikur, Jake Siani and Damian Brown put Hopkins up 12-3 in the ninth, with Thomas Cancian taking care of the Fords in the final half inning to secure the team win.
 
Game 2: Johns Hopkins 10, Haverford 1
 
The story of Saturday's second game was the same as Game 1, with the Blue Jays hitting four more homers to take an early lead and never look back en route to the 10-1 win and series sweep.
 
Hopkins wasted no time getting on the board in Game 2, with a Shane walk setting up Cyr to hit his second homer of the day to jump in front 2-0. A solo homer by Stevens in the second and RBI single by Dillon Souvignier in the third made it 4-0 before a three-run shot from Shane in the top of the fourth ballooned the Jays' lead to seven.
 
While Quinn Rovner continued to make quick work of the Fords' lineup, Hopkins' bats cooled as well as they were held to just one hit in the next three innings before they added two more runs off one Winikur swing. Whitney reached safely on a single for his third base knock of the day, setting up the graduate student to rifle the ball over the fence to put the Blue Jays up nine. Hopkins 10^th and final run came in the ninth, where Siani kicked off the inning with a single to right, advancing to second on a wild pitch before scoring on a Clay Hartje double.
 
Will Boneno entered in relief in the bottom of the eighth, allowing one run before Ryan Anderson tossed a scoreless ninth to secure the 10-1 win and series sweep.
 
The Blue Jays are back in action Tuesday, April 2 to take on Washington College. First pitch of the Centennial Conference matchup is set for 3:30 p.m.
 
Inside the Box Score – Johns Hopkins
• Collins looked strong on the mound in his fifth start of the season in Game 1, allowing three runs on four hits and fanning five across seven innings. The graduate student is now a perfect 4-0 on the year with a 1.72 ERA.
 
• Entering in relief in Game 1, Cole Eggleston and Cancian combined to give up just one hit in the final two innings. Eggleston's ERA is down to 3.38 on the year following his third consecutive appearance without allowing a run while Cancian continues to make strides in his sophomore season.
 
• Winikur tallied three hits across Saturday's doubleheader, extending his streak to a team-best 16 games dating back to February 24. The graduate student hit a homer in both games, marking the second time in his Hopkins career he has gone yard in back-to-back games and first since the 2021 season.
 
• Stevens' three hits and three runs in Game 1 were both season-best marks. Hitting one over the fence in both games, the senior also registered a home run in back-to-back games for just the second time in his career and first since last season.
 
• Shane and Cyr joined Winikur and Stevens in hitting homers in both games Saturday. Shane is now riding a nine-game hitting streak — including six multi-hit outings — and has hit a home run in three straight games, while Cyr's six homers and 24 RBIs on the season both lead Hopkins.
 
• Rovner was near-perfect in his Game 2 start, allowing four hits and striking out four in seven shutout innings. The graduate student moves to 3-1 on the season with an ERA of 4.01.
 
• After hitting just seven home runs in their first eight games Hopkin's bats have come to life. The Blue Jays have hit 14 home runs in their last three games and have at least one in each of their last 12 games.

• Whitney was unstoppable in the nine hole Saturday, going a combined 5-6 at the dish with four runs. The junior now leads the team in batting average (.345) and is tied for third on the team in hits (20).