Trick question: It doesn't -- it gets postponed. Then you get a doubleheader, which could mean double the joy or double the frustration. The Jays got the former.
The baseball team weathered a doubleheader this weekend and came out on top, sweeping both games against the Scarlet Raiders from Rutgers-Newark by scores of 7-3 and 12-6. Both games were rescheduled from earlier in the season.
The doubleheader, taking place on the Blue Jays home turf, bolstered the baseball team's season to an impressive 10-2. The win was the Jays' sixth in a row.
Unfortunately, that streak took a tumble in a close match-up against York College. An unearned run made the difference against the perennially tough Spartans as they took the contest 3-2. Sophomore shortstop Jonas Fester, last week's News-Letter Athlete of the Week, continued his hot play with a leadoff homer, but two York runs in the fourth inning cost Hopkins the lead.
Despite knotting the game up on an RBI groundout by senior left fielder Nick Venezia in the fifth inning, the Jays couldn't muster up the offense to overcome the pestering Spartans.
York's Brian Bednarczyk reached on an error in the top of the seventh inning and eventually came around to score the winning run, setting the score where it remained at 3-2. Despite sophomore right fielder Chez Angeloni's (0-2) superb four-hit, no-walk complete game, he took the loss. The Jays are now 1-2 in one-run games.
Against Rutgers, the Blue Jays took an early lead with a run in the first inning. In fact, it wasn't even until the fifth inning that Rutgers-Newark managed to bring in a run of its own. That single run, however, was not enough to keep the Scarlet Raiders above the water. Starting in the bottom of the fifth inning Hopkins came back with an eager offense, halting the Raiders' advances. Venezia and senior catcher Rob Sanzillo, along with junior first baseman Matt Benchener, all notched RBIs in the effort. Defensively, senior right fielder Brett Izzo also awed onlookers with a diving catch followed by a quick throw to second base.
Although Rutgers-Newark narrowed the gap between scores in the top of the sixth inning, the Blue Jays were able to successfully finish game one with a solid four-run lead (7-3). Also contributing to the victory was junior pitcher Ryan Kuhlman's performance, in which he struck out five.
Game two provided more of the same punishment of Scarlet atted down their rivals, winning by a score of 12-6 and stretching their run total into double digits for the seventh time this season.
The Blue Jays wasted no time getting down to business, scoring three runs in the first inning and another five in the third, including home runs by Izzo, senior third baseman Ian Christie and junior catcher Tony Margve. Shortly after Rutgers-Newark was able to put some numbers on the scoreboard in the fourth, Hopkins came hammering back with two more runs, reinforcing their lead at 10-1.
The fans were again treated to a web gem, this time courtesy of Venezia's diving catch. Senior catcher and captain Rob Sanzillo also put up some crooked numbers, scoring five, driving in three and notching a long ball. Rutgers crossed the plate three more times in the ninth, but it was much too late by then. Hopkins took the game, 12-6.
Putting up these numbers is always wonderful, but this season it has special meaning for the Jays. This year, the team is dedicating the season to Mike Durgala -- a former player and assistant coach who died in a car accident this past summer --- and striving to keep his memory alive. Each player also wears a blue armband in his honor. When he saw an athlete not giving his all, Durgala had always spouted his trademark joke: "It's O.K., we'll win a national championship next year." This year, the team is seeking in earnest to make Durgala's favorite line a reality.
"He is with a lot of us when we are playing c9 We dedicated the season to him," Sanzillo said.
Yet it won't be easy. The Jays have a demanding schedule ahead, complete with some top-ten opponents. "[We're taking] baby steps. We're trying not to look too much past each game, win each one as it comes, then conferences, then regionals," Sanzillo said.
Sunday's doubleheader was not the only action that the baseball team will see this week. Games against both York College and McDaniel -- the Centennial Conference opener are in store for the Blue Jays, as well as a conference doubleheader this weekend at Swarthmore College. Keep your fingers crossed for sunny weather.
