May 29, 2010

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GRAND CHUTE, WI - The top-ranked Johns Hopkins baseball team used a seven-run eighth inning to defeat #7 Shenandoah, 7-4, in an elimination game at the DIII College World Series Saturday afternoon. Jesse Sikorski (Syracuse, NY/Christian Brothers Academy) had the big hit of the inning, clearing the bases with a three-RBI double. The win was head coach Bob Babb's 900th of his career. The Blue Jays are now 44-6 on the season while the Hornets finish their season at 38-10.

Hopkins will play tomorrow, May 30 at 12:00 pm CT against the loser of Cortland vs. Linfield.

Babb is just the ninth DIII coach to reach the 900-win mark and he is now 900-310-10 (.742) in his career.

Sam Eagleson (Reading, PA/Governor Mifflin) pitched a gutsy complete game for Hopkins to improve to 12-0 on the season. He allowed four runs, three earned, on eight hits while striking out seven and walking just one batter.

Greg Van Sickler gave Shenandoah a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning by hitting a home run into his own bullpen in left centerfield.

The Blue Jays threatened to score in the third and fifth innings. They had runners on first and second with one out in both innings. Shenandoah starter, Jake Yocum, got two fly-ball outs to get out of the third inning. Hopkins had the bases loaded with two outs in the fifth but Yocum again induced a fly-ball to escape the inning.

The Hornets added a run in the fifth inning. Mike Smith led off the inning with a single and two Blue Jay errors later Shenandoah had runners on the corners with nobody out. Smith scored on a sacrifice fly by Kevin Brashears. Hopkins put the first two runners on board in the sixth but could not get a run across.

The Blue then exploded for seven runs on six hits in the top of the eighth inning. The first three runners reached base before Sikorski launched a bases clearing double off the left centerfield fence. Sikorski later scored, along with Stephen Bejsiuk (Moorestown, NJ/Moorestown) on a double down the left field line by Lee Bolyard (Burke, VA/Lake Braddock). He would then score on a Hornet error. The last blow of the inning came on a Chris Huisman (Davidsonville, MD/Archbishop Spalding) double to right centerfield that scored James Teta (Centereach, NY/Sachem).

Shenandoah answered with two runs of its own in the bottom of the eighth. Van Sickler hit a two-RBI single to center to score Adam Delauter and Jon Holcomb.

Kyle Scallion took the loss for the Hornets by allowing seven runs, five earned, on five hits in 2.2 innings of work. Yocum pitched five shutout innings, allowing three hits and striking out three, before giving way to Scallion.

Huisman had two extra-base hits for Hopkins, both in the eighth inning while Bejsiuk also had two hits. Sikorski had three RBIs on one swing of the bat while Bolyard had two RBIs on one hit as well.

Van Sickler had two hits and three RBIs for Hopkins while Smith also had two hits.

The Blue Jays will play another elimination game tomorrow at 12:00 pm CT. Hopkins is now 12-2 in elimination games in the last three seasons.