LAKEWOOD, NJ – In a game that was delayed nearly seven hours and stretched into the wee hours of the morning, the sixth-seeded Johns Hopkins baseball team fell to third-seeded and 13th-ranked Alvernia, 2-1, in heartbreaking fashion in the first round of the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional on Wednesday night and into Thursday morning in Lakewood, NJ.
Hopkins drops to 25-14 with the loss and must now work its way through the loser's bracket of the double-elimination tournament, while the Crusaders improve to 36-7 with the win. JHU will face the loser of Thursday morning's matchup between second-seeded Rowan and seventh-seeded Randolph-Macon on Thursday at 3:30 pm.
The game was originally scheduled for a 4:30 pm start, but didn't begin until 11:15 pm due to rain and wet field conditions. The contest didn't end until nearly 2:00 am and almost stretched into extra innings as the two sides went neck-and-neck throughout the game's entirety.
Alvernia got on the board first in the bottom half of the opening frame as sophomore Brian Witkowski poked a one-out double to left field and scored one batter later on a wild pitch that squirted past JHU catcher Joe Borrelli to the third base dugout side of the backstop. Borrelli had trouble locating the ball, which allowed Witkowski to speed all the way from second and cross home plate.
The Blue Jays knotted the contest at 1-1 in the top of the fourth after an RBI double from sophomore Ryan Zakszeski. Senior Jesse Sikorski sent a seemingly routine fly ball to the middle of the outfield that was misplayed by Crusader center fielder Leon Stimpson, before Zakszeski scorched a double down the third base line that allowed Sikorski to reach home from second base.
After surrendering the run in the opening inning, junior starter Alex Eliopoulos settled in on the mound by retiring the next ten batters and allowing just two baserunners throughout innings two through six. However, while the Blue Jays out-hit the Crusaders 5-1 in those five frames, they failed to produce the timely hitting needed to take the lead and the two sides entered the seventh deadlocked at 1-1.
Both teams had golden opportunities to seize control of the contest in the seventh inning, but it would prove to be more of the same as each side came way empty-handed.
With two outs in the top half of the seventh, junior Mike Musary kept the inning alive by drawing a walk and graduate student Steve Bejsiuk slipped a single through the left side of the infield, just under the glove of Crusader third baseman Aaron Carman, and JHU had two runners on and some life in the frame.
Borrelli then hit a short chopper that settled just a few feet in front of the plate and just into the infield grass that Alvernia catcher Julian Faria was unable to handle, as he slipped in the wet grass, and Borrelli reached first safely to load the bags. Senior Jesse Sikorski then came to the plate for Hopkins and nearly blooped a single to shallow right center that would have given JHU its first lead, but Crusader second baseman Chris Ray made an excellent backpedaling catch in the outfield grass to end the top half of the inning.
The Crusaders threatened in the bottom of the seventh as their first two batters reached base and eventually moved to second and third on a sacrifice bunt by senior Reid Martin. With two runners in scoring position and just one away, Alvernia was in prime position to take the lead, but the JHU defense came through in a big way as sophomores Jeff Lynch and Kyle Neverman made consecutive stellar plays in the infield to keep the game knotted at 1-1.
With one out, Lynch made a sliding snag to his right at first base and ran to first for the unassisted putout, before Neverman showed superb concentration to deliver the final out and prevent a run from scoring. Zakszeski attempted to cutoff a grounder to the left side of the infield from his third base position but couldn't glove the ball and his momentum carried him past Neverman, who somehow still managed to field it cleanly and make the throw to first for out number three.
After a scoreless eighth, Musary earned a free pass to first after being hit by a pitch for the second time of the contest, reaching the base paths with two outs for the second straight at-bat. Musary then swiped second base – his first steal of the season – to give JHU a runner in scoring position, but the Blue Jays were unable to capitalize and the score remained tied heading into the bottom of the ninth.
Junior Travis Wrambel led off the inning for Alvernia with a single to left, before Carman sent him to second with a sacrifice bunt. Junior Eric Domitrovits drew a walk and Martin loaded the bases with an infield single to third base. Eliopoulos jumped ahead of the next Crusader batter, freshman Mike Weinhold, with an 0-2 count but a wild pitch allowed Wrambel to race home from third and Alvernia escaped with the victory.
Eliopoulos pitched the entire 8 1/3 for Hopkins, allowing just five hits and three balls to reach of the outfield on the day. The junior righthander struck out six while walking three and falls to 6-3 on the year.
Junior Andrew Kirk pitched the full nine innings for the Crusaders to improve to 10-1. Kirk also delivered a fine outing on the rubber as he totaled 13 strikeouts while surrendering just one unearned run on six hits. Hopkins will face off against the loser of the Rowan/Randolph-Macon game on Thursday, May 19 at 3:30 pm.