April 9, 2004

Box Score

Baltimore, MD - The top-ranked Johns Hopkins baseball team scored seven runs in the second inning and did not look back as the Blue Jays cruised to a 13-4 victory over Washington College Friday afternoon.

Hopkins, which improved to 22-0 overall and 7-0 in the Centennial Conference, got three hits and three runs batted in from junior Mike Durgala (Annandale, VA/Thomas Jefferson) and senior Brian Morley (Tappan, NY/Don Bosco Prep), while sophomore Jason Thayer (Finksburg, MD/Westminster) threw 3.2 perfect innings in relief to pick up the win.

After leaving the bases loaded in the first inning, Hopkins exploded for seven in the second to take control of the game. Senior Craig Cetta (Randolph, NJ/Randolph) opened the frame with a single, and Morley followed with a two-run home run to right, his fourth round-tripper of the season. Senior Tim Casale (West Hempstead, NY/Chaminade) then singled, stole second and scored on a double by junior Paul Winterling (Glenelg, MD/McDonogh). Durgala then doubled home Winterling and scored on a two-run blast to left by sophomore Corey Gleason (Binghamton, NY/Binghamton).

Junior Eric Nigro (Randolph, NJ/Taft Prep) followed with a walk, and after Cetta singled, Morley singled home Nigro to give the Blue Jays a seven-run lead. The Shoremen got a run back in the top of the third when Jay McEvoy walked and scored on a single by Mike DeBartolome, but Hopkins got the run back in the bottom of the frame as Winterling walked, stole second and third, and scored on a single by Durgala.

DeBartolome doubled home Matt Stover and Steve Smith in the fifth, and came around to score on a single by Jim Barossi to pull the Shoremen within 8-4. Washington loaded the bases with one out following a walk to Walt Pyzik, but Thayer relieved senior starter Russ Berger (Owings Mills, MD/Owings Mills) and struck out Zachary Huba and Clint Connolly to escape further damage.

The Blue Jays quickly answered in the bottom of the inning when Casale led off with a walk, stole second and third, and scored on a two-run blast by Winterling, his team-high fifth homer of the season. Durgala followed with a home run to give Hopkins an 11-4 lead and knock Washington starter Eric Lickstein out of the game.

After JHU loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh on singles by sophomore Gary Rosenberg (West Bloomfield, MI/West Bloomfield) and junior Brian Harris (Longwood, FL/Lake Brantley) and a walk to senior David Luongo (Norwalk, CT/Norwalk), freshman Rob Sanzillo (Katonah, NY/Somers) doubled home two runs to cap the scoring.

Thayer improved to 3-0 on the season, while Lickstein fell to 1-3. Berger allowed four runs on five hits in 4.1 innings of work, while junior Jason Hochfelder (Briarcliff Manor, NY/Hackley) struck out one in a perfect ninth.

The Blue Jays remain home Saturday to host Franklin & Marshall in a conference doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.

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