Blue Jays Take Pair At Clothier Fields
SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- The Johns Hopkins pitching staff limited the hometown Garnet to seven hits, taking both sides of an afternoon doubleheader Saturday afternoon at a sunny Clothier Fields. Thomas Nakamura '10 led Swarthmore with two hits and two steals while reliever Scott Dalane '08 allowed only one hit in three innings of work.
The Blue Jays (14-3, 4-0 CC) scored six runs in the first two innings off Swarthmore starter Sean Varsalona (1-2) and JHU starter Pat Steffee limited the Garnet to one hit in five innings to pick up the first game 10-2. JHU rallied in the second game to complete the sweep with a 5-1 victory.
Swarthmore (2-12, 0-4 CC) put two runs on the board in the bottom of the sixth as senior Sammy Faeder reached on an error and sophomore Grant Yoshitsu singled to left. Freshmen Zach Waterfire and Jimmy Gill followed with RBI groundouts—Gill leads the team with nine RBIs.
Yoshitsu, Nakamura and sophomore Conor Casey each picked up a base hit for Swarthmore. Garnet relievers Casey, Dalane, and Dylan Smith '09 limited the Blue Jays to just two hits in the final 3.1 innings.
The Garnet got the jump on Johns Hopkins in game two, grabbing a 1-0 lead after freshman infielder Wiley Archibald came around to score on a miscue by the Blue Jay first baseman.
The Blue Jays came back in the fourth inning, scoring three times off Garnet starter Zach Sinemus '10. Tony Margve and Matt Benchener hit back-to-back singles and moved over on Nick Venezia's groundout. Nate Adelman tied the game with an RBI groundout to second and rightfielder Brett Izzo followed with a mammoth two-out home run over the right-field fence. The two-run shot put the visitors on top 3-1 after four frames.
The visitors added a run in the sixth and the seventh on their way to a fourth Centennial victory on the season.
Archibald, Nakamura, Faeder, and freshman Matt Corso all collected base hits for the Garnet. It was the first hit of Corso's young collegiate career.
JHU lefthander Greg Harbeck threw eight innings of four-hit, one-run baseball with eight strikeouts to move to 3-0 on the season. Sineums (0-2) took the loss for Swarthmore, tossing 5.2 innings while giving up four runs on seven hits.
Swarthmore resume Centennial action on Tuesday, April 3 with a 3:30 p.m. game at Ursinus College. The Garnet return home on Friday, April 6 to complete the home-and-home with the Bears—first pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.