March 17, 2013

Box Score

Fort Myers, FL - Senior Chris Wilhelm belted two two-run home runs - including a 410-foot shot - to lead Johns Hopkins to a 9-4 victory over Pitt-Bradford in game two of a double-header Sunday afternoon in Fort Myers, FL. Pitt-Bradford defeated the Blue Jays in game one, 4-2.

Hopkins (8-2) pounced on Pitt-Bradford (3-6) from the get-go in game two, as leadoff hitter Kyle Neverman hit a single and Mike Kanen drew a walk. Jeff Lynch then knocked in Neverman later in the frame with a sacrifice fly to center field.

The opening inning continued with a Mike Denlinger walk, followed by a Colin McCarthy single to right field which brought home Ryan Zakszeski and Denlinger to give the Jays a 4-0 advantage. The onslaught knocked out Panthers' pitcher Johnny Phelps, who earned only two outs on the afternoon.

The Panthers immediately answered, however, after Hopkins pitcher Jacob Enterlin walked a pair of batters before giving up an RBI double to Derek Smith. Pitt-Bradford tacked on another run after an error in the Blue Jay infield. Thomas Solomon came on in relief for the Jays with the bases juiced and zero outs, and managed to minimize the damage by giving up just one run.

Chris Wilhelm added two runs to the Jays' lead in the third winning by walloping a 410-foot home run over the center field fence. Neverman then plated Adam Weiner after roping a double over the left fielder's head to give Hopkins a 7-3 lead.

Hopkins then posted a pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh inning when Wilhelm added his second home run of the game with a two-run shot to left field. It was the second multi-home run game of Wilhelm's career, having first achieved the feat on April 6, 2011 against McDaniel.

The Jays were the beneficiaries of strong relief appearances from Solomon and Justin Drechsel. Solomon earned the victory in four innings of relief, while Dreschel went three innings and rang up five consecutive batters at one point.

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Bobby Sorokas hit a two-run inside-the-park home run over the outstretched glove of center fielder Richie Carbone to lead Pitt-Bradford to a 4-2 victory over Hopkins in game one. Panther freshman pitcher Zach Bican went the distance in the seven inning contest, giving up six hits and zero earned runs.

Pitt-Bradford got on the board first in the third inning after Michael Pascarella hit into a fielder's choice which brought in Kirby Craft from third base. Smith doubled the Panther lead with a double down the left field line to give his side a 2-0 advantage. The Panthers appeared ready to add more runs, but Michael Grewe did well in relief to cause a pop fly and get the Jays out of the inning.

The Blue Jays answered with a pair of runs of their own in the bottom of the frame as Wilhelm knocked in Carbone from third with a single through the left side. Lynch then brought in Wilhelm later in the inning with a sacrifice fly to center field.

Sorokas' home run in the top of the fourth inning was the difference, however, as the Jays could muster only four hits throughout the rest of the contest. Carbone led JHU with two hits in the game, in addition to one run scored.

On the day, the Blue Jay bullpen of Grewe, Schaefer Whiteaker, Solomon and Drechsel allowed just one run in 10.1 innings of work.

Hopkins will play its fifth game of the Florida trip tomorrow against Wooster at 4:00 pm.

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