Despite getting solid pitching, the Muhlenberg baseball team dropped a pair of games to defending Centennial Conference champion Johns Hopkins, 1-0 and 5-1.

Junior RJ Hennessey and senior Timmy Pilrun, the Mules' starting pitchers, combined to allow only four earned runs in 14 innings pitched. 

In the opener, Hennessey tossed his third complete game of the season, scattering nine hits and striking out six over eight innings. Back-to-back extra-base hits in the bottom of the fifth brought in the only run he allowed.

Hennessey has given up one earned run or fewer in each of his last four starts, lowering his season ERA to 1.44.

Held to two hits over the first eight innings, the Mules (10-13, 3-3) threatened to tie the game in the ninth when singles by sophomore John Serruto - his second of the game - and junior Matt Riebesell put runners on the corners. The game ended when the next batter struck out.

The 1-0 game was the second for Muhlenberg against a CC opponent in the last four days. In their first 24 years in the CC, the Mules played only three 1-0 games against league foes. This is only the fourth time in team history - the first since 1975 - that Muhlenberg has played more than one 1-0 game in a season.

The second game was another pitching duel until the Blue Jays (15-9, 5-1) scored twice in the bottom of the third. They tacked on single runs in the fifth, sixth and eighth.

A one-out RBI single by junior Chris Grillo in the ninth prevented Muhlenberg from getting shut out again.

Pilrun fanned five to move into 10th place on the program's all-time list with 140 career strikeouts.