BALTIMORE, Md. – A four-run third inning and a five-run fifth proved to be the difference in an 11-2 loss for the Ursinus baseball team against top-seeded and eighth-ranked Johns Hopkins in the Centennial Conference Championship game Sunday afternoon at Babb Field.
The loss closed out the season for Ursinus with a 25-18-1 overall record, marking its first Centennial Conference Championship game appearance since 2017 and third overall. Johns Hopkins secured its fourth straight Centennial Conference title, earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, and improved to 33-9 on the season.
Senior
Kyle Rosenfeld led the Bears offensively, finishing 2-for-4, while sophomore
Luke Kopec added a base hit and two RBIs. Sophomores
Matthew Callahan and
Devin Fogg each added a base hit.
The Bears put a pair of runners on base to open the contest as Callahan walked and Kopec was hit by a pitch. However, a lineout and a pop out stranded both runners on base.
First-year
Jamie O'Neill made the start on the mound for the Bears and cruised through the first inning, retiring the Blue Jays in order. Johns Hopkins opened the scoring in the second, plating two runs on three extra-base hits to take a 2-0 lead.
In the bottom of the third, O'Neill recorded two quick groundouts before a Hopkins single sparked a four-run inning. With a runner on first and two outs, a ground ball to second led to Rosenfeld flipping the ball underhand to Callahan, but he was ruled off the base, extending the inning. A double to left field followed, along with a three-run home run to cap the inning and extend the lead to 6-0.
Sophomore
Chase Martin relieved O'Neill in the fourth and retired the Blue Jays in order on a groundout, pop out, and lineout. In the top of the fifth, senior
George Nestor led off by being hit by a pitch before Fogg recorded Ursinus' first hit with a single to right field.
Sullivan advanced both runners into scoring position with a groundout to first. After another groundout back to the pitcher threatened the rally, Kopec delivered a ground-rule double to left field to cut the deficit to 6-2. The rally ended there as first-year
Brett Barrett flew out to the warning track in right-center field.
Martin ran into trouble in the fifth as a single, a walk and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases with no outs. Johns Hopkins capitalized as Clay Hartje hit his second home run of the game, a grand slam, to extend the lead to 10-2. The Blue Jays added another run on a sacrifice fly before junior
Barritt Ross worked out of the inning with a flyout and a groundout.
Sophomore
Isaac Gesford led off the sixth with a walk, prompting a pitching change for the Blue Jays. Rosenfeld singled with one out to put two runners on, but a strikeout and pop out ended the threat as Ursinus stranded two runners.
Johns Hopkins recorded a pair of hits to open the bottom of the sixth before first-year
Austin Downs entered out of the bullpen and struck out back-to-back batters to strand two runners in scoring position.
Ursinus was retired in order in the seventh as Johns Hopkins maintained an 11-2 lead. Downs kept the Blue Jays off balance, striking out his third straight batter before a flyout and a groundout closed out the seventh.
Senior
Shane Beaver drew a two-out walk in the eighth, and Rosenfeld followed with his second hit to put two runners on base. A fielder's choice to second halted the rally, leaving Ursinus trailing by nine.
Callahan recorded a two-out single in the ninth, but a strikeout sealed the 11-2 loss. Downs highlighted the Bears' pitching effort, tossing the final 2 2/3 innings while allowing just one hit and striking out three.
"Built on toughness, growth, and belief, the 2026 Ursinus Bears showed what it means to stay on course," Head Coach
Kyle Lindsay said. "I am forever grateful to our seniors, the first class I was fortunate to walk with for all four years, they have laid the foundation of who we are and where we're headed."
The Bears close out a strong season, earning their most wins since finishing 25-16 in 2017. The 25 victories mark the program's highest total since a 29-10 campaign in 2000.
