Tournament Schedule
BALTIMORE, Md. – A six-run sixth inning proved to be the difference as the Ursinus baseball team fell, 8-7, to No. 8 Johns Hopkins University in the Centennial Conference Baseball Playoffs.
With the loss, Ursinus falls to 23-17-1 on the season and will now face Washington College in an elimination game Saturday morning. The top-seeded Blue Jays improved to 31-9 overall and will take on second-seeded McDaniel College on Saturday.
All nine Ursinus starters recorded a hit in the contest, with first-year
Brett Barrett leading the way with a three-run home run and four RBIs. Junior
Brandon Sullivan and sophomore
Luke Kopec each added two hits for the Bears. It marked Sullivan's 21st multi-hit game of the season and Kopec's 18th, while sophomore
Matthew Callahan has now scored a run in 10 straight contests.
The Bears jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first, powered by a pair of hits and two free passes. After a lineout to open the game, Callahan reached on a six-pitch walk and Kopec singled to put two runners on. Sophomore
Isaac Gesford then drew a walk before Barrett lifted a sacrifice fly to right to score the game's opening run. First-year
Jamie O'Neill followed with a double to score Kopec, but the rally ended as Gesford was thrown out trying to score from first.
Sophomore pitcher
Chase Martin received the start for Ursinus, his 12th of the season, and worked around a pair of baserunners in the first, stranding two in scoring position on a groundout to short. In the second inning, senior
Kyle Rosenfeld singled and Sullivan doubled with two outs, but both were left in scoring position as a groundout ended the frame.
The Blue Jays responded in the bottom half with a leadoff home run to trim the deficit to one before Martin retired three straight batters to keep Ursinus ahead by one. Ursinus answered in the third, scoring three runs on three hits to push its lead to 5-1. After Kopec and Gesford led off with singles, Barrett jumped on the first pitch he saw, lifting a three-run home run to right field. It marked his third home run of the season, his second against the Blue Jays in the last week, and extended his Ursinus single-season RBI record to 50.
A pair of baserunners reached for the Blue Jays in the bottom of the third, but Martin struck out the final two batters of the inning to maintain the lead at four. Both pitching staffs settled in during the middle innings until Johns Hopkins' second solo home run in the fifth cut the Bears' lead to 5-2.
The Bears responded in the sixth, scoring twice on three hits to extend their lead to 7-2. Senior
Shane Beaver and Nestor opened the inning with singles before a fielder's choice and a groundout threatened the rally. Callahan delivered with a single to center, scoring Rosenfeld and Nestor to give Ursinus a five-run cushion.
However, the Blue Jays erupted in the bottom of the sixth, tallying six extra-base hits and scoring six runs to take an 8-7 lead. Johns Hopkins plated five runs with two outs before a strikeout with a runner on second ended the inning.
After consecutive hits opened the seventh, senior pitcher
Brett Mutz entered and kept the deficit at one, stranding the bases loaded. Mutz struck out the first batter he faced before inducing a flyout and groundout to escape the jam. Mutz also pitched a clean eighth inning for Ursinus, working around a two-out to force a groundout and bring Ursinus up to the plate in the ninth.
The Bears were unable to generate offense over the final two innings, going down in order in both frames to seal the 8-7 defeat.
Ursinus returns to action Saturday, May 2nd, against third-seeded Washington College in an elimination game at Babb Field. First pitch is scheduled for 10 a.m.
