BALTIMORE, MD – The Johns Hopkins baseball team took on nearby Catholic in non-conference action Wednesday afternoon, falling 16-10 to a red-hot Cardinals team at home. The Blue Jays used a furious comeback to tie things late, but six unanswered runs in the eighth from Catholic were the difference in the high-scoring affair.
Despite what the final score suggests, Wednesday's game was a pitchers duel through three innings. Hopkins'
Drew Grumbles and the Cardinals' Danny Prior both allowed just one hit in the opening third of the contest, but it was Catholic's solo homer in the second inning giving them a 1-0 lead before the game blew open in the fourth.
After the Cardinals (22-8, 11-5 Landmark) put up a six spot in the top of the frame sparked by a Jack Elwell grand slam to jump in front 7-0, The Blue Jays (22-8, 10-1 Centennial) would score five unanswered over the next two innings to chip away at the lead.
It was
Matthew Cooper getting things started in the fourth with an infield single, advancing to second on a grounder before
Jacob Harris hit a single through the left side to score the graduate student and break up the shutout. With two out,
Seif Ingram stepped up to the plate and hit his first home run in a Hopkins uniform to cut the lead to 7-3, with another two-run shot from
Alex Shane in the fifth making it a two-run game.
Catholic put three on the board in the top of the sixth, but their half-inning was answered by an even more impressive bottom half in which
Shawn Steuerer's pinch-hit, two-RBI double was followed by yet another Shane moonshot to trim the deficit to just one. Entering in relief in the seventh,
Grant Meert tossed a shutdown inning before an RBI single up the middle from Ingram leveled things at 10 after the Blue Jays trailed by as many as seven.
The tie, however, was short-lived, with Catholic retaking the lead in the eighth on a pair of three-run home runs from Zach Burton and Sammy Burman, with inning-ending double plays in the eighth and ninth from Hopkins ending the game in a 16-10 defeat.
The Blue Jays return to Babb Field Friday, April 19 to take on McDaniel, with first pitch set for 3:30 p.m.
Inside the Box Score – Johns Hopkins
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Jacob Harris and
Dillon Souvignier finished the day with a game-high three hits apiece. Harris' three hits tie the sophomore's career high set a game ago against McDaniel, while Souvignier now shares the team lead in hits on the season with 33.
• Shane impressed at the plate once again, going 2-4 with two home runs and a team-high four RBIs. The sophomore's eight homers on the season lead the team and more than double his total from all of last season (3), with his 24 RBIs ranking third on the team.
• Ingram was the fourth and final Blue Jay to register multiple hits, going, 2-3 with two runs and three RBIs. The graduate student's run and RBI totals were both season bests, with his home run in the fourth also serving as his first in Hopkins blue.
