BALTIMORE, MD – The 10
th-ranked Johns Hopkins baseball team avenged last season's Division III World Series loss to No. 15 Messiah in emphatic fashion Wednesday afternoon, blasting six home runs in a 21-6 win at Babb Field at Stromberg Stadium.
The six long balls marked the most in a game for the Blue Jays since they hit six in last season's NCAA Regional matchup against Farmingdale State.
Hopkins entered with a vengeance.
After starter
Charles Monterrosa worked a scoreless top of the first, the Blue Jays erupted for eight runs in the bottom half, sending 11 men to the plate.
Alex Shane jumpstarted the outburst with a three-run home run to right, staking Hopkins to a 3-0 lead.
With the bases loaded later in the inning, reigning Centennial Conference Player of the Week
Aaron Bock was hit by a pitch to force in a run.
Damian Brown followed with a sacrifice fly, and in his second plate appearance of the inning,
Jacob Harris capped the frame with a three-run homer to right to give the Blue Jays an 8-0 advantage after one.
Monterrosa cruised through the first two innings before Messiah cut into the lead in the third.
Carter Reid drove in the Falcons' first run with a shot to center, and
Drew Hurst added a two-run homer to trim the deficit to 8-3.
Any momentum was short-lived.
Hopkins responded with its biggest inning of the afternoon, exploding for nine runs in the bottom of the third to stretch the lead to 17-3. Bock,
Shane Keough and Brown launched back-to-back-to-back home runs to ignite the rally.
Lukas Geer later lined a two-run single up the middle, and
Clay Hartje followed with the Blue Jays' third three-run homer of the game, a line drive that cleared the netting in right.
Michael Yousef took over in relief and earned the win with a dominant outing. The right-hander tossed 3.0 scoreless innings, striking out four while allowing just four hits.
Monterrosa worked 4.0 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits while striking out five.
Hopkins added a run in the fifth and three more in the sixth to round out the scoring. Hartje drove in his fourth run of the game on a fielder's choice,
William Jaun added an RBI groundout and Geer delivered another two-run single.
Messiah plated three runs in the ninth — two coming on a home run — but the deficit proved too much to overcome as Hopkins secured its third win of the season.
The Blue Jays return to action Friday, February 27, when they host Cairn at Babb Field at Stromberg Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
Inside the Box Score – Johns Hopkins
• The six home runs are the most by Hopkins since last season's NCAA Regional game against Farmingdale State
• Four Blue Jays recorded multi-hit games. Geer led the way, going 3-for-4 with five RBIs. Hartje finished 2-for-4 with four RBIs and a walk.
• Yousef (1-0) earned the win with 3.0 scoreless innings and four strikeouts.
• With the victory, the Blue Jays improved to 36-1 at home dating back to the start of the 2024 season.
