GAME ONE
• Score: Hopkins – 16, Dickinson - 14
• Records: JHU (24-9, 10-3 CC) • Dickinson (22-8, 9-4 CC)
• Location: Baltimore, MD • Babb Field
• Pitching Decision: W – Josh Hejka (4-2) • Tommy Koide (6-1)
• The Short Story: In a wild game one, the Johns Hopkins baseball team found itself in a 6-0 hole after the top of the first, but the Blue Jays rallied and after the top two teams in the Centennial Conference went back-and-forth throughout the majority of the game, it was the Blue Jays coming out with the 16-14 win.
How it Happened
• It was a wild first inning as the Red Devils opened the game scoring six runs, all via the home run. Matt Matilsky hit a two-run shot to center to make it 2-0 and Max Brown hit one over the center field wall with the bases loaded to put Dickinson up 6-0. The Blue Jays cut the lead in half in the bottom of the inning on a three-run shot to right by Chris DeGiacomo to make it a 6-3 game.
• Jonah Offman entered the game with one out in the second and runners on second and third and with a 2-0 count on the batter he got a popup and a strikeout to get out of the inning and keep it a 6-3 game.
• The Blue Jays matched the Dickinson six-run first with seven-run second as Mike Eberle made it a one-run game in the bottom of the inning as his single up the middle plated two runners. Nate Davis gave the Blue Jays the lead as he crushed a three-run shot to the deepest part of the park to give Hopkins an 8-6 advantage. Austin Sacks and Matthew Ritchie added run-scoring singles to cap the scoring in the inning as Hopkins came-back to take a 10-6 lead.
• Dickinson loaded the bases in the third with one out and after a sacrifice fly plated one, Offman got the next batter swinging to end the inning and keep the Blue Jays in the lead at 10-7. Davis hit his second homer of the day in the bottom of the inning to give JHU an 11-7 advantage.
• The Red Devils fought back to make it a one-run game in the fourth as they plated three runs to make it an 11-10 Hopkins lead, but Tim Kutcher singled home AJ King to make it a 12-10 JHU lead in the bottom of the inning.
• Another three-run inning for the Red Devils put them back in the lead in the fifth, capped by a two-run homer by Joey Volpe that put Dickinson ahead, 13-12. A leadoff homer by Chris Delsandro in the sixth put the visitors up 14-12.
• Chris Festa tied the game once again with a two-run single in the bottom of sixth and Hopkins had a chance to take the lead as JHU loaded the bases, but the Blue Jays could not get the go-ahead run across. Johns Hopkins converted with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh as a sacrifice fly by Kutcher plated Brad Parsons with the 15th Blue Jay run of the day which put JHU up one. Eberle followed with a two-strike single up the middle to give JHU a two-run lead at 16-14.
• Hejka dazzled on the mound as he retired his first 10 batters he faced before allowing two singles in the top of the ninth, however, the senior buckled down and got a strikeout to end the game and seal the incredible come-from-behind victory for the Blue Jays.
Inside the Box Score
• Hejka earned his fourth win on the year as he went four innings allowing just two hits while tying his career-high with five strikeouts in the game.
• Nine different Blue Jays recorded a hit in the game while three different players had at lead two hits in the contest. Davis led the way with his three-hit day while DeGiacomo and Eberle each had two hits in the game.
• Davis also led the Blue Jays with two home runs and four RBIs as he now leads the team with 11 homers and ranks second with 30 RBI on the year.
GAME TWO
• Score: Hopkins – 11, Dickinson – 10
• Records: JHU (25-9, 11-3 CC) • Dickinson (22-10, 9-5)
• Pitching Decision: W- Jack Bunting (9-0), L – Ben Rappaport (4-2), S – Josh Hejka (5)
• The Short Story: Just like game one, the second game of the doubleheader was a wild slugfest with saw Dickinson comeback from down 7-3, but the Blue Jays rallied back and took game two by an 11-10 score.
How it Happened
• Davis hit his third home run of the day as he gave the Blue Jays an early 3-0 lead with his 12th long ball of the season in the bottom of the first.
• The Red Devils responded in the top of the second as Alex Jacobson took Matthew Dillard's pitch over the left-center wall to make it a one-run game.
• James Ingram gave the Blue Jays a two-run lead with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth and Eberle made it a 5-2 game with an RBI single to left. Festa plated Kutcher with a single to left to extend the JHU lead to four runs and Eberle came around to score on a passed ball to make it a 7-2 ballgame.
• Dickinson got to Dillard in the fifth as back-to-back singles plated the third Red Devil run of the game, but a double play and a strikeout got Dillard and the Blue Jays out of the inning allowing just the one run. The Red Devils then put up five runs in the sixth to take an 8-7 lead. The visitors made it a 9-7 lead in the seventh on a solo shot by Max Matilsky.
• With the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the seventh, Lopez hit a fly ball to right to make it a one-run game and Kutcher worked a walk with the bases loaded to force in a run and tie the game at nine.
• A ground-rule double by Carter gave Dickinson the lead back at 10-9 in the top of the eighth inning but a solo shot by Festa to lead off the bottom of the inning tied the game at 10. Hopkins loaded the bases with one out and Ritchie worked a walk to force in the go-ahead run.
• Hejka entered in the top of the ninth and got Dickinson in order to complete the victory for the Blue Jays.
Inside the Box Score
• Hejka notched his fifth save on the year as he is one save away from tying the program record of 14.
• Davis led the Blue Jays in game two with three RBI and Festa led the way with three hits.
What it Means
• Johns Hopkins is now 71-24-2 all-time against Dickinson as the Blue Jays have won the last nine meetings. The last Red Devils victory came on April 27, 2014, as Dickinson defeated Hopkins, 7-6 in 12 innings.
• The victory in game one was the first time Hopkins has won a game after trailing by six runs. The last time the Blue Jays achieved the feat was on May, 15 2009 when JHU defeated Salisbury, 11-6 in the NCAA Tournament.
• JHU is now in sole possession of first-place in the Centennial Conference.
Up Next
• The Blue Jays return to the diamond on Tuesday, April 23 for a rematch of last year's Centennial Conference Championship as Johns Hopkins will host Swarthmore at Babb Field. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 pm.
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