BALTIMORE, MD – The No. 2-ranked Johns Hopkins baseball team squared off against Swarthmore (20-15, 11-3) Saturday afternoon in a twinbill, sweeping the Garnet 16-6 in the morning game and 14-4 in the nightcap. The Blue Jays are in sole possession of first in the conference standings after Saturday's senior day doubleheader.
Prior to first pitch, 11 seniors and graduate students were recognized: Bear Awadzi,
Cole Eggleston,
Jimmy Nunez,
Jackson Roloff,
Quinn Rovner,
Matt Savedoff,
Jake Siani,
Dillon Souvignier,
Shawn Steuerer,
Tyler Sugrim and
Dylan Whitney.
Game 1
Hopkins (32-3, 13-1) came out swinging in game one of the series, jumping to an early 3-0 lead, highlighted by a two-run home run off the bat of
Alex Shane. Swarthmore cut the deficit to two in the top of the third, but the Blue Jays quickly answered in the bottom half with two more runs on
Jimmy Stevens' first homer of the game, pushing the lead to 5-1.
The Garnet added a solo home run from Zac Kahn in the fourth, but Hopkins again responded in the bottom of the inning with two more, courtesy of a Shane RBI double and a
Shawn Steuerer fielder's choice, extending the lead to 7-2.
The Blue Jays broke the game open in the sixth, plating six runs on a
Lukas Geer opposite-field homer, a Steuerer sacrifice fly, a
Caleb Cyr RBI single and Stevens' second home run of the game.
Swarthmore showed some life in the seventh, scoring four on a pair of two-run home runs to cut the lead to 13-6. However, Hopkins answered right back in the bottom half, tacking on three more runs via a
Jake Siani double, Shane RBI single and
Dillon Souvignier run-scoring single to make it 16-6.
Kieren Collins earned the win on the mound, improving to 5-1 on the season. The right-hander went 6.2 innings, allowing six runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out six.
Inside the Box Score
•
Alex Shane paced the Blue Jay offense, going 3-for-4 with a home run, four RBIs, two runs scored, and a walk.
Jimmy Stevens drove in a game-high five runs with a pair of home runs.
•
Dillon Souvignier has hit safely in 15 of the last 16 games, while
Caleb Cyr has scored at least one run in 12 consecutive games.
• Seven Blue Jays recorded a multi-hit game:
Dylan Whitney (4), Shane (3), Souvignier (3),
Lukas Geer (3), Cyr (2),
Jimmy Stevens (2) and
Jake Siani (2).
Game 2
Swarthmore jumped on
Drew Grumbles early, plating three runs in the top of the first. But Hopkins wasted no time responding, evening the score in the bottom half with a three-run inning, highlighted by an RBI double from
Alex Shane and a two-run home run from
Dillon Souvignier.
In the second,
Jake Siani added to the momentum with a two-run blast to right, giving the Blue Jays a 5-3 lead.
From that point forward, it was all Hopkins. Grumbles settled in after the rocky first, tossing five scoreless innings and keeping the Garnet off balance, while the Blue Jay offense exploded for seven runs in the fifth. Souvignier kicked off the outburst with his second two-run homer of the game, followed by a
Jacob Harris RBI double, a
Jake Siani run-scoring single, capped by a three-run shot from
Alex Shane, extending the lead to 12-3.
Swarthmore managed one more run in the seventh on a solo home run off
Ryan Anderson, but Anderson retired the next three batters to end the threat.
Hopkins tacked on two more in the eighth to push the lead to double digits, sealing a 14-4 victory and a series sweep over the Garnet.
Drew Grumbles improved to 7-0 on the season, tossing 6.0 innings and allowing just three runs on four hits and three walks, while striking out three.
Inside the Box Score
•
Alex Shane,
Dillon Souvignier and
Jake Siani led the Blue Jay offense all recording four RBIs.
• Souvignier has hit safely in 16 of the last 17 games.
The Blue Jays are back in action Tuesday, April 22 at Athey Park in Chestertown, MD, taking on Washington College in the first game of a home-and-home series with first pitch scheduled for 3:30 PM.
