April 26, 2013

Box Score

CHESTERTOWN, PA -- A pair of freshman stepped up when the team needed them most Friday afternoon as pitcher Carter Burns and shortstop Raul Shah helped lead the No. 3 Johns Hopkins baseball team to an 8-2 defeat of Washington College.

Burns allowed just one earned run in seven innings and Shah notched his first two collegiate hits as Hopkins (31-5, 13-3 CC) regained a two-game advantage in the Centennial Conference standings heading into the final day. Seniors Ryan Zakszeski and Jeff Lynch also came up big, combining for six hits, four RBIs and two runs.

The Blue Jays got things going in the second inning as Chris Wilhelm doubled to left field and then scored after Washington College pitcher Joe Kearney-Argow airmailed a throw to first base on an Adam Weiner bunt. Weiner advanced to second on the errant throw, and Shah -- replacing Kyle Neverman due to academic obligations -- slapped an RBI single to left field to score the second basemen and give the Jays a 2-0 lead.

The Shoremen cut their deficit in half in the fourth when Burns pegged the leadoff man Bryan Baquer. Baquer then scored on a groundout RBI by Scott Matthews after advancing to third base.

Hopkins added a pair of runs in the fifth as Christopher Casey singled to left and Zakszeski reached on a pop-up that fell between three Shoremen. Lynch followed by crushing a bases-clearing double to the center field fence.

The game unraveled for Washington College in the eighth as Kearney-Argow was yanked after giving up a leadoff single to Weiner. Weiner scored after a sacrifice bunt by Shah and a pair of wild pitches. As the inning continued, Casey scored on a Zakszeski single and Colin McCarthy scored on a Lynch hit. Hopkins increased its lead to 8-1 when Mike Denlinger reached on a fielder's choice.

Hopkins now holds a comfortable two-game lead in the conference standings as Gettysburg fell to McDaniel, 5-2. The Blue Jays will secure the right to host the conference tournament with one victory tomorrow in the double-header against Muhlenberg at the JHU Baseball Diamond.

For more information on the Johns Hopkins Baseball Capital Project, contact Blue Jays Unlimited at bju@jhu.edu or click here.

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