Courtesy of Johns Hopkins Athletic Communications
• Score: Johns Hopkins-3, University of Northwestern-2
• Records: JHU (15-4) • NW (34-12)
• Pitching Decision: W: Collins (5-1) • L: Boerema (7-2)
• The Short Story: The sixth-seeded Johns Hopkins baseball team completed a stunning run to a regional title and earned a trip to the Division III World Series with a 3-2 win over the University of Northwestern-St. Paul in the St. Paul Regional championship game Monday afternoon.
How it Happened
• Peter Schaefer got the start on the mound for the Blue Jays and retired the six batters he faced in the first and second innings and the Blue Jays also went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the first.
• The Blue Jays got on the board first as Austin Sacks laced a one-out single to center in the bottom of the second and Mark Lopez ripped a double down the line in left to chase him home and give Hopkins a 1-0 lead after two innings.
• The Eagles responded in the top of the third as they scratched out an unearned run on a one-out single and a pair of Blue Jay errors. Carlton Lindow, who had singled, raced home on the second of the two errors to get Northwestern on the board.
• The 1-1 tie was short-lived as the Blue Jays came right back with two runs in the bottom of the inning to grab a 3-1 lead. A leadoff home run from Jack Pausic – his third in two days – and an AJ King RBI single accounted for the two big hits in the inning for Hopkins.
• Kieren Collins, who had replaced Schaefer to start the third, allowed the unearned run in the third, set the Eagles down 1-2-3- in the fourth and gave up a double in both the fifth and sixth innings. A great diving catch by David Harding in left ended the fifth and Collins forced a pair of ground outs to finish off the sixth. He added another 1-2-3 inning in the seventh when he capped the quick frame with back-to-back strikeouts.
• The Blue Jays had a chance to add to their lead in the bottom of the sixth as they worked runners to second and third with two outs, but Eagle starter Owen Boerema picked up a big strikeout of his own to kill the rally.
• The Eagles got one back in the top of the eighth on a two-out home run from Keegan Vercoe. Harding saved a run with a great throw one play earlier when he fired a strike to second to throw out Sam Peteron who had singled, but was tagged out after over-sliding second trying to turn it into a double.
• Collins made quick work of the Eagles in the ninth as he got a ground out and fly out to start the inning and capped the win with his career-high eighth strikeout of the day to clinch Hopkins' fifth trip to the Division III World Series.
Inside the Box Score
• Collins went 7.0 innings and allowed five hits and two runs (one earned) with the career-high in strikeouts and just one walk.
• King was named the Tournament MVP. He went 2-for-4 today with what proved to be the game-winning RBI; he finished 10-of-23 (.435) in the regional.
• Pausic had one career home run before the regional, but hit the three in the last two days. His home run today gave the Blue Jays the lead for good.
• Northwestern did not have a player with multi-hit game and the Eagles scratched just the five hits off Collins in his seven innings and none off Schaefer in the first two.
Notes of Interest
• Johns Hopkins claims its fifth regional title with today's win. The Blue Jays previously grabbed region championships in 1989, 2008, 2010, and 2019.
• The Blue Jays improved to an amazing 18-6 in regional elimination games since 2008.
• Johns Hopkins is 15-4 on the year, 22-4 in its last 26 games dating back to last season and 24-7 since the start of the 2020 season.
Up Next
• Johns Hopkins will open play in the Division III World Series on Friday, June 4 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The bracket & more information can be found here.