April 15, 2004

Box Score

Baltimore, MD - Johns Hopkins senior righthander Jeremy Brown (Baltimore, MD/McDonogh) allowed just three hits in a complete game victory as the top-ranked Blue Jay baseball team defeated McDaniel, 8-1, Thursday afternoon.

Brown, who improved to 7-0 on the season and lowered his team-best earned run average to 1.19, gave up one earned run while striking out 13, one shy of his career-high set last season against the Green Terror.

Hopkins, which improved to 25-0 overall and 10-0 in the Centennial Conference, took control early by scoring three runs in the bottom of the first. Senior Tim Casale (West Hempstead, NY/Chaminade) opened the inning with a single and moved to second on a bunt single by senior Rob Morrison (Malibu, CA/Loyola). After the runners executed a double steal, Casale scored while Morrison advanced to third on a wild pitch.

After junior Mike Durgala (Annandale, VA/Thomas Jefferson) walked, senior Brian Morley (Tappan, NY/Don Bosco Prep) singled to left to score Morrison, and senior Craig Cetta (Randolph, NJ/Randolph) followed with a single through the left side to plate Durgala with the third run of the frame.

Senior Doug Hitchner (Haverford, PA/Episcopal Academy) opened the second inning by getting hit by a pitch and was pinch-ran for by junior Eric Nigro (Randolph, NJ/Taft Prep), who advanced to second when Casale delivered his second hit of the day. After Morrison bunted the runners to second and third Winterling scored Nigro with a sacrifice fly to center, and Durgala followed with a single up the middle to plate Casale and make it a 5-0 game.

The Blue Jays carried the five-run lead into the seventh when the Green Terror, who dropped to 14-5 overall and 8-3 in the league, finally got on the board. Scott Deitrich led off with a single up the middle, moved to second on a walk to Jeff Dyke and scored on a single to right by Chris Seibert, who finished with two of McDaniel's three hits. Following the Seibert single the Green Terror had runners on the corners with one out, but Brown struck out Chad Keller and Ryan Shotzberger to escape further damage.

The Blue Jays quickly answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning off of Deitrich. Winterling led off by getting hit by a pitch, and after he stole second, Durgala worked a walk. Morley then scored both runners with a double into the left centerfield gap, his team-leading 10th two-bagger of the season.

Senior Carl Ippolito (Ewing, NJ/Pennington School) added a pinch-hit home run to left in the eighth, and Brown punctuated his performance by striking out the side in the ninth.

Morley shook off flu-like symptoms to go 2-for-4 with three runs batted in, while Casale went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and Cetta added two hits and drove in one.

McDaniel start David Skoczlas allowed five runs and six hits in two innings to pick up the loss and fall to 4-1 for the Green Terror.

Hopkins and McDaniel will go right back at it Friday with a 3:30 p.m. game in Westminster, MD.

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