May 23, 2008

Box Score

APPLETON, WI - In the second longest game in NCAA Tournament history, senior first baseman Matt Benchener (Newtown, PA/Holy Ghost Prep) doubled in the winning run in the bottom of the 14th inning to lift the Johns Hopkins baseball team to a 3-2 win over Adrian in the first round of the College World Series. The Blue Jays (39-6) won their fifth straight game and advance to face Chapman in second round action on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. CT.

Senior catcher Tony Margve (Randolph, NJ/Randolph) led off the inning with a single up the middle and came around to score on the Benchener hit down the right field line.

Adrian got on the board with a single run in the top of the first as Alex Cowart drew a two-out walk and scored on Bobby Rickstad's single to right center.

The Bulldogs added to their lead in the fifth as Jake Cappelletty drove a home run ball over the fence in left field and they led 2-0 after five complete innings of play.

Hopkins finally got things going in the bottom of the sixth inning. Sophomore right fielder Brian Youchak (Pittsburgh, PA/Vincentian Academy) led off with a single before senior center fielder Rob Pietroforte (Brooklyn, NY/Berkeley Carroll) stroked a double down the right field line to put runners on second and third. Senior third baseman Todd Emr (Westwood, NJ/Saddle River Day) then singled to right field to score Youchak. The hit was the 81st of the season for Emr, tying the school single-season record, he would go one to break the record in the 11th inning. Senior shortstop Jonas Fester (Dallas, TX/Syosset (NY)) followed with a sacrifice fly to left field to tie the game at 2-2.

The next seven innings belonged to the pitchers as neither team was able to dent the scoreboard. Adrian looked to have something going in the ninth when Cappelletty led off with a single and moved to third on Alexander Younce's sacrifice bunt. Cappelletty then attempted to score on a fly ball to right field however Youchak caught the ball and fired a strike to the plate for the third out of the inning. The two teams remained scoreless setting the stage for the 14th inning heroics.

Hopkins got two incredible pitching performances in the contest. Senior Joe Zaccaria (Manhasset, NY/Manhasset) went the first nine innings and dominated Adrian's line-up. He allowed just two runs, one of which was earned on six hits, and struck out a career-high 14 batters. Senior Ryan Kealy (Ardsley, NY/Ardsley) relieved Zaccaria to start the 10th and went the final five innings to pick up his sixth victory of the season. Kealy allowed just one hit and struck out five in his action. The pair tied the NCAA Tournament record for strikeouts with 19.

Ryan Domschott took the loss for the Bulldogs as he pitched the final three innings and gave up just one run on four hits. Alex Webster pitched the first 10 innings for Adrian giving up two runs on nine hits. The two teams combined for 29 strikeouts in the game, breaking the previous NCAA Tournament record of 26.

Emr finished 4-of-6 on the day with one RBI and now has 83 on the season. Youchak extended his hit streak to 27 straight games with a single.