BALTIMORE, MD – The top-seeded and sixth-ranked Johns Hopkins baseball team had three pitchers combine for a one-hitter and the Blue Jay offense hit four home runs to fuel a 12-1 win over St. Joseph's (LI) in the first game of the NCAA Baltimore Regional at Babb Field Friday afternoon. The one-hitter is the first for Johns Hopkins in its NCAA Tournament history.
Hopkins (33-9) will play the winner of the Arcadia-Ramapo game in a winner's bracket game on Saturday, May 18 (11 am). The Golden Eagles will play the Arcadia-Ramapo loser in an elimination game later tonight.
The Blue Jays touched St. Joseph's starter Jack Kelly for four runs in the bottom of the third to break a scoreless tie. After Kelly recorded an inning-opening out, Matthew Cooper and Jimmy Stevens worked their way on with consecutive walks and Dylan Whitney followed with a three-run home run to deep left center. The Blue Jays would scratch out another run in the inning as they loaded the bases on consecutive singles and another walk before Caleb Cyr chased home the fourth run with a sacrifice fly to left.
Hopkins doubled its lead in the fifth as the Jays pushed across another four-spot to extend out to an 8-0 lead. A Whitney single and a Shawn Steuerer walk put two men on with one out and junior Dillon Souvignier followed with a three-run home run to right to make it 7-0; Isaiah Winikur later singled home Jacob Harris, who had doubled to left center, to account for the fourth run of the inning.
While the Blue Jay bats were heating up, graduate student Kieran Collins was efficiently taking care of things on the mound. He gave head coach Bob Babb seven strong innings of one-hit ball with seven strikeouts against just one walk. The only hit he allowed was a bunt single by leadoff hitter Joe Hackal in the fourth.
Johns Hopkins tacked on three more runs in the seventh courtesy of an Alex Shane sacrifice fly and a two-run Souvignier home run to right and the Jays added a single run on a Steuerer home run to right center in the eighth.
St. Joseph's avoided the shutout with a run in the ninth. Hackal opened the inning with a walk, advanced to second on a balk, moved to third on a ground out and scampered home on a Dom Crema ground out to second before John Lynch grounded out to pitcher Nicolas Jos to end the game.
Souvignier was 2-for-2 with two runs scored and five RBIs, while Whitney was 3-for-5 with three runs scored and three RBIs to lead a 13-hit attack for the Blue Jays.
Collins and relievers Thomas Cancian and Jos would combine to allow just the Hackler bunt single in the fourth along with one hit batter and two walks with eight strikeouts. Collins earned the win to improve to 6-0 on the year.
St. Joseph's slips to 33-13 with the loss. Kelly took the loss and slips to 5-4 on the year as he worked 5.0 innings and allowed eight runs on seven hits with five walks.