The Basics
• Score: Hopkins – 14, Muhlenberg - 4
• Records: JHU (28-11) • Muhlenberg (20-18)
• Location: Baltimore, MD • Babb Field
• Pitching Decision: W – Jack Bunting (11-0) • L – RJ Hennessey (3-6)
• The Short Story: Tim Kutcher and Mark Lopez had five RBIs each in the game as the Johns Hopkins baseball team advanced to the winner's bracket in the Centennial Conference Tournament with a 14-4 victory over Muhlenberg on Thursday afternoon. The Mules will take on Haverford on Saturday at 9 am in an elimination game.

How it Happened
• Back-to-back hits with two outs in the top of the first gave Muhlenberg a 1-0 lead as Chris Grillo doubled and came around to score on a single from Matt Riebesell.
• Matthew Ritchie singled to lead off the third and came around to score in a two-out homer to left-center by Tim Kutcher which game Hopkins a 2-1 lead.
• Jack Bunting worked around a Mules' single in the third and a double in the fourth to keep the Blue Jays in the lead.
• After Ritchie reached on an error, Mark Lopez brought him home with a home run to left to give Hopkins a 4-1 advantage.
• JHU tacked on four runs in the sixth inning as Chris Festa scored the fifth Blue Jay run on an error, and Lopez singled home two more runs to make it a 7-1 contest and Ritchie later stole home to give Hopkins a seven-run lead. Back-to-back doubles from Kutcher and Mike Eberle in the seventh put JHU up 9-1 in the seventh inning.
• The Mules cut the Hopkins lead to 9-4 in the top of the eight as the Muhlenberg scored three runs in the inning. Jaspar Carmichael entered the game with runners on first and second and one out and got Jon Capra swinging for out two. John Donohue then entered the game and got Billy Brittingham looking to end the inning.
• JHU got the runs back and more in the bottom of the inning as Lopez hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded to make the score 10-4. Kutcher then launched the 0-1 pitch over the wall to give the home team a 13-4 lead. Eberle followed with a homer of his own to right-center to give the Blue Jays a 14-4 lead.
• Donohue gave up a one-out single in the ninth, but he got the next two Mules out to secure the 14-4 JHU victory. Donohue went 1.1 innings allowing one hit and one walk while striking out one. 

Team Leaders
Johns Hopkins:
Hits: Kutcher - 3
RBI: Kutcher, Lopez - 5
Strikeouts: Bunting - 4

Muhlenberg:
Hits: Riebesell - 4
RBI: Riebesell - 2
Strikeouts: Three tied - 1

What it Means
• The Blue Jays are now 39-15 all-time in the Centennial Conference Tournament and sport a 9-4 record in first round games. JHU has won the last four first round games.
• Johns Hopkins is now 7-0 all-time against the Mules in the tournament and 44-18 overall against Muhlenberg as Hopkins has won the last seven meetings between the two teams. The Blue Jays have outscored the Mules 44-5 this season.  
• Bunting is just the fourth JHU pitcher to win 11 games in a season since 1998.
• As a team, Johns Hopkins has hit 68 home runs this season which is the fourth-most in program history

Inside the Box Score
• Kutcher went 3-5 on the day with two home runs and five RBIs. He is now fourth in the team with nine home runs and also ranks fourth with 30 RBIs this season.
• Lopez also finished the day with five RBIs as the sophomore went 2-3 in the game.
• Bunting went the game's first six innings as the senior allowed just the one run on five hits. He walked one and struck out four.

Up Next
• JHU will take on Franklin & Marshall in the winner's bracket on Saturday, May 4. First pitch will be at approximately 12:30 pm at Babb Field.