Release courtesy of Johns Hopkins Athletic Communications
• Score: Johns Hopkins-9, Adrian College-12
• Records: JHU (15-6) • WASHU (37-9)
• Pitching Decision: W: Trey Miller (3-1) L: Kieren Collins (5-2) S: Spencer Ford (1)
• The Short Story: After falling behind 11-0, the Blue Jays mounted a furious rally before falling 12-9 to Adrian. The Blue Jays season comes to a close with a 15-6 record and the fifth CWS appearance in program history.
How it Happened
• Kieren Collins and Maxwell Denny both made quick work of the top of the order in the first, going 1-2-3 in a brisk inning.
• Adrian struck first in the bottom of the second inning after the Jays failed to push one home in the top half. A James Ingram single put runners on first and third with two away for Hopkins, but Denny induced a routine flyout to right off the bat of Mark Lopez. Joe Casale started things off for the Bulldogs with a one-out single. Brandon Cooper doubled down the left-field line, putting runners on second and third for Kevin Cardentey. A soft liner into center brought home Casale for the first run of the ballgame. Collins got O'Keefe to bounce into a double play to end the inning.
• In the bottom of the third, Ty Peck led off the inning with a single, but was thrown out trying to steal second by AJ King. With one away, Thomas Miller reached on an error by Matthew Ritchie before coming in to score on a two-out, two-run homer off the bat of Gunner Rainey, giving Adrian a 3-0 lead.
• Disaster struck for the Jays in the fourth as Adrian pushed five runs across on four hits. After retiring the first batter, Collins hit Cooper with a pitch. Cooper moved up to second after another base hit from Cardentey. O'Keefe ripped one off the wall in left, scoring both runners. Now leading 5-0, Peck reached again with an infield single. Collins got a flyout for out number two, but walked Brady Wood to load the bases. That was it for Collins as Jonah Offman entered to pitch for Hopkins. Offman walked Rainey with the bases full, bringing home another run. Tristin Richardson brought in two more with an RBI single to center, extending the Bulldog lead to 8-0.
• Adrian tacked on three more runs in the fifth inning with Carson McKoon now pitching for JHU. McKoon retired the first hitter before allowing Cardentey's third hit of the day. O'Keefe was hit by a pitch to put a pair of runners on before Peck flied out to left for the second out. Miller doubled to right, scoring Cardentey and giving the Bulldogs a 9-0 lead. Rainey picked up two more RBI with a double, making it 11-0.
• The Blue Jay bats came to life in the fifth as Lopez opened up the inning with a solo shot over the wall in left. After a David Harding flyout, Dai Dai Otaka took Denny deep to left, cutting the deficit to 9. King picked up a two-out single for the Jays, advancing to third on a Jared deFaria double off the left-field wall. Austin Sacks brought both runners home with a double to right field. Hopkins loaded up the bases, but Elliott Edsall came into the contest and retired Lopez to end the inning with an 11-4 Adrian lead.
• Hopkins continued the quest to chip away in the bottom of the sixth inning. Edsall retired Harding to open the inning, but allowed a single up the middle to Dai Dai Otaka. Otaka advanced to second on a wild pitch and moved over to third as Ritchie reached on an error. King drew a walk to load up the bases, forcing the Bulldogs to go back to the bullpen. Facing Trey Miller, deFaria lofted one to center, deep enough to score Otaka with a sacrifice fly. Sacks drew a walk to re-load the bases, bringing Jack Pausic up to the plate. Pausic singled through the hole between short and third, scoring Ritchie, but King was thrown out at the plate trying to steal another run.
• Now leading 11-6, Adrian added a 12th run in the top of the seventh. Miller started the inning with a single, but was retired on a fielder's choice by Wood. Rainey singled through the left side, putting a runner in scoring position. Richardson lined a ball into center, scoring Wood for a 12-6 Adrian lead.
• The resiliency for Hopkins continued to show, getting the run right back in the bottom half of the inning. Ingram dropped down a bunt single, advancing to second on a throwing error. Ingram advanced to third on a Harding ground out before scoring on an RBI single from Otaka.
• The Jays added two more in the bottom half of the eighth inning, making the deficit just three. With Tripp Russo in to pitch, King took the first pitch he saw over the left field fence for a solo homer. deFaria doubled, chasing Russo quickly from the contest. Sacks singled back up the middle, scoring deFaria to cut it to 12-9.
• Spencer Ford shut the door in the bottom of the ninth, getting the pinch-hitting Mike Ainsworth to line out to left. Otaka lofted a shallow fly ball into left, but Cooper made an outstanding sliding catch for out number two. Ford got Ritchie swinging to end the contest and the Jays season.
Inside the Box Score
• Johns Hopkins' 16 hits in the contest is the second-most ever in a College World Series game in program history. The 2008 team racked up 21 hits vs. Wisconsin-Whitewater. The nine runs is the third most in program history.
• Five Blue Jays had multi-hit games with deFaria and Sacks leading the way with three each.
• deFaria went 3-4 in the contest, reaching base in his 17th straight game and picking up a hit in 15 of his last 17 contests.
• Wyatt Copeland threw a career-high three innings in relief, allowing just one run to allow JHU to continue to mount a comeback.
Notes of Interest
• The Blue Jays fall to 5-5 all-time in College World Series elimination games and 9-10 overall in CWS contests.