March 8, 2006

Final Stats

BALTIMORE - Johns Hopkins pitchers limited Messiah to five hits while allowing no earned runs and striking out 11, as the Blue Jays rolled to a 15-3 non-conference win on a chilly Wednesday afternoon at JHU Baseball Field.

Senior righty Tim Denning (Chester, NJ/Delbarton School), who made only three appearances in 2005 due to an injury, was sharp in two ininngs. Working as Wednesday's starter, Denning (1-0) set down six of seven Messiah batters, allowing no hits and putting away three via the strikeout. Four other Blue Jay hurlers combined for seven frames, notching eight strikeouts while giving up just five hits.

Hopkins used a seven-run second inning to take control for the remainder of the afternoon, getting multi-RBI innings from senior center fielder Matt Scally (Hicksville, NY/Hicksville) and sophomore shortstop Jonas Fester (Syosset, NY/Syosset). Scally poked a single through the middle of the infield to bring across two and extend the lead to 3-0, while Fester doubled into the gap in right field to push the margin to 5-0.

The Blue Jays added a pair of three-run innings, including a fifth-inning three-run homer from sophomore pinch-hitter Todd Emr (Westwood, NJ/Saddle River Day), who clubbed his first career long ball. In the seventh, Hopkins added three more with two outs, highlighted by RBI doubles from sophomore first baseman Matt Benchener (Newton, PA/Holy Ghost) and senior second baseman Corey Gleason (Binghamton, NY/Binghamton).

In the top of the eighth inning, Messiah got on the board by plating three with two outs. The Falcons picked up their second and third runs when junior center fielder Chris Heisey drove a double into the left center gap. Heisey pushed his team-leading RBI total to seven on the play.

Five Blue Jays registered multi-hit games. Gleason drew a pair of walks while Fester and senior first baseman Tim Sliker (Hamilton, NJ/Pennington School) swiped two bases each.

For the Falcons, five hitters picked up one hit a piece. Senior lefty Garrett Dobbs (0-1) suffered the loss in his first outing of the season.

With the win, the Blue Jays improved their record to 2-1, while Messiah slipped to 1-2.

Hopkins will be back on the diamond again on Thursday, hosting York College of Pennsylvania at 3 p.m.