BALTIMORE, Md. – The Ursinus College baseball team rallied back from an early five-run deficit in the first game of the Centennial Conference tournament, only to see Johns Hopkins score five in the bottom of the seventh as the Blue Jays (23-11) defeated Ursinus (14-20) 10-7 at the Johns Hopkins Baseball Diamond.

With the loss, the Bears will face Haverford at 9 a.m. Saturday in the elimination game. Hopkins moves onto face F&M in the second game of the day. 

Ursinus was led by junior right fielder Garrett Smith (Syracuse, N.Y.), senior third baseman Rob Vogt (Basking Ridge, N.J.) and freshman catcher Josh Schnell (Gilbertsville, Pa.) who each had two-hits.

Junior shortstop Brandon Sullivan (Gilbertsville, Pa.) hit a three-run in the sixth with one out which put Ursinus within one at 5-4. A triple in the right center gap by junior centerfielder Ben Gresh (Pottstown, Pa.) tied the score at 5-all.

The Bears found themselves in a 3-0 early as graduate catcher Joe Borrelli hit a three-run home run to right center in the first inning with no outs off of junior starter Nate Schnell (Gilbertsville, Pa.).

After that home run, Schnell allowed just four hits over the next four innings including a span where he nine straight. Schnell finished with a no-decision, striking out two and allowing four earned runs.

Hopkins added two in the fifth on run scoring singles by Borrelli and senior left fielder Jesse Sikorski.

After Ursinus tied the score, Hopkins got five back in the seventh, as Sikorski had a three-run home run and sophomore third baseman Ryan Zakszeski added a two-run single.

In the eighth, Ursinus scored a run as junior first baseman Rich Guthridge (Schwenksville, Pa.) was hit by pitch scoring Smith, followed by a sacrifice fly by Josh Schnell scoring Vogt.

Freshman pitcher Steve Berardi (Hartsville, Pa.) took the loss, falling to 1-2. He allowed five runs in 1.2 innings.