May 21, 2010

Box Score

Photo Gallery

TRENTON, NJ - The top-seeded Johns Hopkins baseball team is one win away from its third trip to the College World Series as it defeated sixth-seed Rowan in the winner's bracket final by a score of 9-4. Greg Harbeck (Glen Ridge, NJ/Montclair Kimberley Academy) allowed just one earned run in nine innings of work to improve to 8-0 on the season. The Blue Jays have now tied the school record for wins at 42, set in 2008, with a 42-4 overall record. The Profs are now 26-15-1 on the season.

The Blue Jays will return to action tomorrow at 5:00 pm in the championship round when they face the survivor of the loser's bracket. A Hopkins win will send them to Appleton, WI for the World Series but a loss will force a winner-take-all championship game at 1:00 pm on Sunday.

Rowan will face the winner of Friday night's final game, second-seed Kean vs. third-seed Widener at 1:00 pm tomorrow. The winner of Rowan's game will play Hopkins for the regional championship.

This marks the fifth-straight NCAA appearance in which Hopkins advances to the regional final and fourth consecutive year (2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010).

Harbeck pitched a spectacular complete game for the Blue Jays, going the full nine innings and allowing just one earned run on five hits. He retired the first batter in eight of the nine innings and had one strikeout and one walk.

Rowan scored three unearned runs in the game while one of Hopkins runs was also unearned. Both teams made three errors on the day. The Blue Jays had a significant advantage in hits with 12 while the Profs only had five hits.

James Teta (Centereach, NY/Sachem) scored three runs for the Blue Jays, reaching base three times with two hits. Brian Youchak (Pittsburgh, PA/Vincentian Academy) went 3-for-4 with three RBIs while Chris Huisman (Davidsonville, MD/Archbishop Spalding) and Dave Kahn (New Hyde Park/Herricks) each had two hits in the game.

Youchak now holds the Hopkins single-season record for multi-hit games in a season with 33 and runs scored in a season with 71, breaking his own record set in 2008.

Brad Woodend was the only Rowan player to have more than one hit in the game, with two singles.

Hopkins jumped on top with three runs in the bottom of the second. Joe Borrelli (Wyckoff, NJ/Ramapo) ripped a double to left center to score Lee Bolyard (Burke, VA/Lake Braddock). Borrelli would later score on an RBI-groundout by Matthew Bernardi (Lake Forest, IL/Lake Forest). Teta, who was hit by a pitch, scored on a single to left by Huisman.

Rowan answered right back with three runs of its own in the top of third. Scott Weaver hit a two-RBI double to bring home Woodend, who singled, and Matt Citro, who was hit by a pitch. Dave Lenig also scored on a sacrifice fly to centerfield by Nick Turano.

Kahn led off the bottom of the inning with a double to right field. He would score on a John Swarr sacrifice fly.

The Profs would again tie the score in the top of the fourth when Woodend singled home Marc Magliaro. The Blue Jays then took a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the fourth when Youchak singled home Teta.

Hopkins scored three runs in the sixth inning to build an 8-4 lead. Youchak had a two-RBI single up the middle while Swarr also tallied an RBI on a catcher's interference, the second of the inning.

The Blue Jays added one run in the eighth on a sacrifice fly by Jesse Sikorski (Syracuse, NY/Christian Brothers Academy).

Michael Cox took the loss for the Profs by allowing eight runs, seven earned, on 11 hits in five innings of work.