The Basics
• Score: Hopkins – 8, F&M - 1
• Records: JHU (29-11) • F&M (27-14)
• Location: Baltimore, MD • Babb Field
• Pitching Decision: W – John Donohue (1-0)  • L – Jack Buckley (7-3)
• The Short Story: The Johns Hopkins baseball team will be playing for the 11th Centennial Conference Tournament title in program history on Sunday, as the Blue Jays advanced to the championship round with an 8-1 victory over Franklin & Marshall on Saturday afternoon.

How it Happened
• The Diplomats took an early 1-0 lead as Alex Miller took the 1-0 pitch from Sean McCracken over the left field wall with one out in the first. The Blue Jays then loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning and Chris DeGiacomo was hit by a pitch to force in a run and tie the game.
• F&M loaded the bases with two outs in the second, however, McCracken got Miller swinging to end the threat. Kelsey Launi doubled to lead off the third but McCracken got the next three outs to leave him stranded.
• JHU took the lead in the fourth, taking advantage of a Diplomat error to plate Matthew Ritchie and make it a 2-1 Hopkins lead.
• Donohue took over for McCracken with one out in the fourth with runners on first and second and the senior lefty got the next two outs to keep Hopkins in the lead.
• Mark Lopez took the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the sixth over the wall to put JHU up by two runs. The Dips threatened in the top of the seventh, but Donohue got Will Samuel to fly out and leave two runners stranded.
• The Blue Jays took control of the game in the seventh, scoring four runs to take a 7-1 lead. Nate Davis led off the inning with a homer to right and after walks to DeGiacomo and Ritchie, James Ingram took the first pitch he saw over the wall to make it a six-run JHU lead. Hopkins added another run in the eighth on a Chris Festa home run to left, and Donohue retired the Diplomats in order in the top of the ninth to seal the 8-1 JHU victory and send Hopkins into the championship bracket, needing to win just one game to earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Team Leaders
Johns Hopkins:
Hits: Eberle, Festa, Ingram - 2
RBI: Ingram - 3
Strikeouts: McCracken - 5

Franklin & Marshall:
Hits: Launi - 3
RBI: Miller - 1
Strikeouts: Buckley -3

What it Means
• The Blue Jays boast a 15-5 record in the championship series.
• JHU is now 12-4 all-time against the Diplomats in the Centennial Conference Tournament.
• Overall in the Centennial Conference Tournament, the Blue Jays are 40-15.

Inside the Box Score
• With the three home runs in the game, JHU has now hit 72 this season which is the third most in program history. The 2010 team has the program record with 80.
• Davis now has 15 home runs this season which is the fourth most in team history. Festa's 13 long balls are the sixth most in a single season in team history.
• Donohue pitched a career-high 4.2 innings to earn the win as he allowed just two hits and two walks while striking out two batters. McCracken went 4.1 innings allowing just the one run on six hits. He walked two and struck out five.
• Eberle, Festa and Ingram each had two hits in the game while Ingram led the team with three RBIs.

Up Next
• Johns Hopkins will be in search of its 11th Centennial Conference Tournament Championship tomorrow, Sunday, May 5 as JHU will take on Haverford at 12 pm.