March 7, 2004

Box Score

Baltimore, MD - Doug Hitchner (Haverford, PA/Episcopal Academy) went 3-for-4 with two doubles in the opener while Dave Montegari (West Hempstead, NY/Chaminade) hit two home runs in the nightcap as the sixth-ranked Johns Hopkins baseball team swept SUNY New Paltz, 11-1 and 10-5, in a doubleheader Sunday afternoon.

The Blue Jays, who improved to 3-0 on the season, struck first in the opener with two runs in the bottom of the second. Paul Long (Oklahoma City, OK/Heritage Hall) singled, stole second and scored on a single to rightfield by Carl Ippolito (Ewing, NJ/Pennington School). After a single by Sven Stafford (Evanston, IL/Evanston) and a wild pitch, Ippolito scored on a sacrifice fly by David Luongo (Norwalk, CT/Norwalk).

The Hawks got a run back in the third when Blake Crocitto singled home Vinny McAdams, but Hopkins answered with single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to take a 5-1 lead. With one out in the fourth, Stafford walked, Hitcher doubled and Luongo walked to load the bases. Stafford then scored with New Paltz catcher Josuha Gutes tried to pick him off third but threw the ball into leftfield.

Paul Winterling (Glenelg, MD/McDonogh) walked with one out in the fifth, and stole second and third. After an infield single by Eric Nigro (Randolph, NJ/Taft Prep), Long plated Winterling by singling to left. In the sixth Hitchner led off with a single to right and scored on a double to right center by Luongo.

The Blue Jays put the game away by scoring six runs in the eighth. Hitchner opened the frame by doubling to left, and following a pop out, Brian Morley (Tappan, NY/Don Bosco Prep) singled to right. Corey Gleason (Binghamton, NY/Binghamton) then singled home Hitchner, and after the ball got through Hawks leftfielder Justin Buonamano, Morley scored and Gleason ended up on third. Winterling singled to left to score Gleason, and Nigro followed with a two-run home run. Long then singled and scored on a double by Rob Sanzillo (Katonah, NY/Somers) to conclude the scoring.

Russ Berger (Owings Mills, MD/Owings Mills) allowed one run on five hits in the first three innings to pick up the win for the Blue Jays. Jim Flannery (Rocky River, OH/St. Edward) and Ryan McConnell (Lancaster, PA/Penn Manor) each threw two scoreless innings, while Jason Hochfelder (Briarcliff Manor, NY/Hackley) and Jeremy Brown (Baltimore, MD/McDonogh) also did not allow a run in an inning each. Hawks starter Joe Gugliotta gave up five runs in five-plus innings while falling to 0-1 on the season.

The Blue scored first in the opening frame of the nightcap, as Tim Casale (West Hempstead, NY/Chaminade) doubled to lead off the inning, moved to third on a ground out by Mike Spiciarich (Syosset, NY/Chaminade) and, after a walk to Gary Rosenberg (West Bloomfield, MI/West Bloomfield), scored on an infield single by Mike Durgala (Annandale, VA/Thomas Jefferson).

Rob Morrison (Malibu, CA/Loyola) led off the second with a single up the middle and scored on an inside-the-park home run to center by Montegari. Hopkins tacked on another run in the inning as Brian Harris (Longwood, FL/Lake Brantley) walked and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by Rosenberg.

The Hawks picked up a run in the third when John DeKams singled home Eric Velazquez, and tied the game with three runs in the fourth of off Blue Jay righthander Adam Josephart (West Nyack, NY/Clarktown South). After Matt Zajdel walked and Phil Scaglione doubled to lead off the inning, George Perry doubled them both home. McAdams tied the game with an infield single to score Perry.

New Paltz then took its first lead of the afternoon in the top of the sixth, as Velazquez walked, advanced to second on a balk and scored on a double by Silvestre Castro. However, Hopkins responded with six runs in the bottom of the frame to put the game away.

Montegari opened the inning by blasting a home run over the leftfield fence, and Harris followed with a single. Long, pinch running for Harris, then stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch before Casale singled him home with the go-ahead run. Buonamano then relieved Hawks starter Andrew Raphael, but Spiciarich greeted him with a single to left. Rosenberg then singled to left to plate Casale, and Durgala smashed a three-run homer to put Hopkins up five. Stafford pitched a perfect seventh to give the Blue Jays the sweep.

Hopkins starter Matt Righter (Clarion, PA/Lawrenceville Prep) allowed one run on three hits in the first three innings, while Ryan Lanpher (York, PA/Calvert Hall) gave up one run on a hit in 1.2 innings. Andrew Bail (Chicago, IL/Latin School) struck out the only batter he faced in the sixth and picked up the victory. Raphael allowed seven runs on 10 hits in 5.1 innings pitched for SUNY New Paltz to fall to 0-2 on the year.

The Blue Jays will next be in action on Saturday, taking on Suffolk at 3 p.m. in Clearwater, FL.

-30-