BALTIMORE, MD – The No. 4/5 Johns Hopkins baseball carried a one-hit shutout into the eighth inning Sunday afternoon to upset second-ranked Salisbury, 7-2, at Babb Field at Stromberg Stadium. The victory improves the Blue Jays to 9-2 on the season.
In a game that featured a pitcher's duel through the early innings, both starters kept opposing lineups in check. Although Hopkins starter
Thomas Cancian settled for a no-decision after tossing 4.1 scoreless innings, he was effective throughout his outing. Cancian worked around leadoff walks in three separate innings, striking out six while allowing just one hit.
Hopkins broke through in the fourth inning to score the game's first run. With the bases loaded,
Shane Keough was hit by a pitch to force in the opening run and give the Blue Jays a 1-0 lead.
As Cancian neared his pitch limit in the fifth,
Connor Henk came on in relief and retired the next two batters to keep Salisbury (8-2) off the board. Hopkins then added to its lead in the bottom half of the inning, as
Clay Hartje lined a two-out single into center field to score
William Jaun and push the advantage to 2-0.
Henk continued to deal in the sixth, striking out the final two batters of the inning after issuing a leadoff walk. The Blue Jays then broke the game open in the bottom half, plating four runs to extend their lead to 6-0.
Jacob Harris started the rally with an RBI single up the middle before
Alex Shane followed with a run-scoring base hit. A heads-up play on the basepaths allowed
Luke Baker to score from second on a ball put in play by Jaun, and
Lukas Geer capped the inning with a sacrifice fly that brought home Shane.
As Henk reached the end of his outing,
Dylan Zucker entered to record the final nine outs and ultimately earn his first save in a Hopkins uniform. The Blue Jays added another run in the seventh when Harris scored from third on a wild pitch, extending the lead to 7-0.
Salisbury broke up the shutout in the eighth with a two-run home run after back-to-back hits cut the Hopkins lead to 7-2. Zucker then induced three ground balls in the ninth to close out the victory and secure the upset of the nation's second-ranked team.
The Blue Jays return to action Monday, March 9, when they host Hood at Babb Field at Stromberg Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
Inside the Box Score – Johns Hopkins
• Henk (1-0) earned the win with 1.2 scoreless innings in relief, striking out three. Zucker recorded the final nine outs to earn his first save of the season
• Three Blue Jays recorded multi-hit games. Hartje led the offense, going 3-for-4 with an RBI and a walk. Shane and Harris each added two hits and an RBI.
• With a single in his first at-bat, Shane extended his hitting streak to eight games and has now recorded a multi-hit performance in four consecutive games.
