BALTIMORE, MD – The Johns Hopkins baseball team faced off against No. 3 Baldwin Wallace on Day 1 of the Baltimore Invitational Saturday afternoon, and in the rematch of last season's Division III College World Series semifinal it was the Yellow Jackets coming out on top, handing the Blue Jays the 5-1 defeat. Hopkins outhit Baldwin Wallace 8-7 in the contest but were unable to convert on a number of opportunities with runners in scoring position en route to its first loss of 2024.
 
The Blue Jays' first good chance to break open the scoring in Saturday's contest came in the third inning after Dylan Whitney and Isaiah Winikur started off the frame with a pair of singles. A fielder's choice set Hopkins up with runners on the corners and just one out, but the Yellow Jackets retired the Jays' next two batters to keep the game scoreless three innings in.
 
After another shut down top-half inning by Matt Savedoff — the junior allowed just two hits and one run in five innings of work — Hopkins used the team's first home run of the 2024 campaign courtesy of Jimmy Stevens to jump in front 1-0. Seif Ingram followed the homer with a double down the left-field line for his first hit in a Blue Jay uniform before back-to-back groundouts kept it a one-run game.
 
That lead was short-lived, however, with Baldwin Wallace registering its first two hits in the fifth before a grounder leveled the game at one halfway through the contest.
 
Winikur opened the bottom of the fifth with a walk followed by an infield single from Alex Shane to threaten Hopkins retaking the lead once again, but a Cooper fly out to right center turned into a double play after Winikur was caught tagging. After Shane advanced to third on a wild pitch, a flyout from Shawn Steuerer ended the once-promising inning with the score still level at one. Instead, it was the Yellow Jackets capitalizing on a slow start by newly-entered Ryan Anderson, using a four-hit top of the sixth — including a three-run shot to right center field — to take a 4-1 lead into the sixth. 
 
Missed opportunities continued to plague the Blue Jays bats, with the home side leaving the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth and a man on third in the eighth, sending them into the final frame still down three.

Baldwin Wallace added an insurance run in the top of the ninth before Hopkins went down in three batters in the final half inning to suffer the 5-1 loss.
 
The Blue Jays get a short rest before returning to Babb Field Sunday, Feb. 25 to host Arcadia for Day 2 of the Baltimore Invitational, with first pitch set for 2:30 p.m. 
 
Inside the Box Score – Johns Hopkins
• After scoring seven runs on eight hits in their season-opener, Hopkins was held to just one run on eight hits this afternoon, leaving 10 runners on base in the contest.
• Dylan Whitney continued his strong start to the season with a 1-2 effort from the nine spot, hitting a single and drawing two walks.
• Jimmy Stevens was the lone Blue Jay to have multiple hits on the day, adding a double to pair with his first home run of the season in an impressive outing at the plate.
• Anderson (0-1) shut down the Yellow Jackets following a three-run sixth frame, allowing no hits and striking out three over his next two innings of work.

Inside the Box Score – Lynchburg
• Dylan Snyder earned his first win of the season, allowing just the one run on eight hits in six innings of work. Vince Dolcemaschio was excellent in relief, shutting down the Blue Jays in the final three innings
• Nathan Zinn went just 1-4 on the day with three strikeouts, but his one hit — a three-run homer — was the difference in Saturday's game.
• Jace Druschel was the only Yellow Jacket to register multiple hits, going 2-4 with a run scored.