With the rate at which balls are flying over fences nowadays, the Jays look to be in a prime position to continue their undefeated streak through conference competition. This past week the Jays went yard six times, going 3-0 against Centennial foes, toppling Washington twice, 10-0 and 14-2, while managing to slide past Gettysburg, 9-6, in a slugfest.
Hopkins hosted the Shoremen last Thursday and treated their visitors to an early, insurmountable deficit. However, it was the error-prone Shoremen that boggled and botched enough plays to exacerbate the game's initial blunder into a 10-run Hopkins romp. The Jays got on the board quick with an unearned run in the first courtesy of Greg Perret's fielding debacle and some timely hitting by senior second baseman Ian Christie.
Hopkins struck again in the third when senior catcher Rob Sanzillo singled home senior right fielder Brett Izzo, who had previously advanced in the inning due to Chris Smith's wild pitch. The Shoremen continued to dig themselves into a hole while attempting to throw-out a Sanzillo steal as the ball flew past third base and trickled into the left field grass. After Christie drove in his second run of the contest, the Jays sat comfortably on a 4-0 lead by the end of the third.
Senior center fielder and clean-up hitter Rob Pietroforte put forth the best performance of the day, going 2-2 at the plate with two walks, a double, a stolen base and a two-run homer. His efforts were aided by Sanzillo, Christie, and junior left fielder Jon Solomon who went a combined 6-11 with 5 RBIs.
"Going into the season, we knew had one of the best line-ups in the country," Pietroforte said. "Now, we are playing more up to our potential, but I still think we haven't played our best ball yet." Oddly enough, the first unearned run of the game would be all the Jays needed for victory as sophomore right-handed pitcher Chez Angeloni threw a true gem. Going seven innings, yielding just three runs and striking out three, Angeloni's shutout was preserved by the sophomore southpaw Henry Striegl and senior right-hander Brian DeLeo. Although it was Angeloni's first
win of the season, his goose egg lowered his impressive ERA to a nifty 2.30 and secured him the Centennial Conference Pitcher of the Week award. With nine runs of support through the first five innings of play, Angeloni expressed his gratitude for the efficient heart of his team's batting order.
"Going into the game against Washington, I knew our offense was going to be able to point up a lot of runs," Angeloni said. "So out there on the mound I felt very comfortable that if I could get groundballs and stay focused, we could get the win."
Due to a long stretch of inclement weather, the Jays opted to play a previously postponed game the next day in Washington College's backyard in Chestertown, Md. Junior lead-off man and shortstop Jonas Fester played the role of igniter, as he was the first to break through for the Jays in the third inning by lining a worm-burner double.
With two outs and two strikes on him, Sanzillo battled back in the count and cracked a shallow enough single to score Fester. Pietroforte contributed to the winning cause by blasting a towering home run, handing Hopkins a solid 3-0 advantage. The Jays were not finished, however, as Christie took a bean to the back and eventually scored thanks to a looping double by freshman third baseman Lee Bolyard.
The Blue Jays repeated their third-inning four spot with another wild one in the consecutive inning. Following the error that caused junior first baseman Matt Benchener to reach base, Fester singled to deep right, Izzo singled -- driving in Benchener -- and Sanzillo sent a moon shot over the right field fence. The Shoremen could only stand and sulk as their team fell behind eight runs on eight hits before their puny offense mustered up a run in the bottom half of the fourth. When all was said and done, Hopkins totaled a whopping twenty hits in brutal comparison to the Shoremen's eight.
"You don't have to worry as much when your team is putting up runs at the clip we are," Angeloni said. "It really increases my confidence and assures me that I don't have to be absolutely perfect out there."
Once again, the Hopkins pitching was superb as junior right hander Ryan Kuhlman went six innings, giving up only a single score on track to logging to his fourth win of 2007. The back end of the bullpen also pulled through in fine fashion as junior right hander Ryan Kealy and senior righty Jon Anderson each pitched one scoreless inning.
"Right now, we are clicking on all cylinders and our pitching staff has recently come together very nicely," Striegl said. "Everyone in the bullpen has been itching to get in there and show their stuff -- and when called upon, almost everyone has delivered."
The game of the week was on hand last Tuesday at Hopkins when the Gettysburg Bullets came to town.
The Bullets shot off the charts with an explosive three-run third inning. Designated hitter Joe Bonyai keyed the scoring surge with a double that drove in two. The resilient Jays responded in the bottom half of the inning, registering an astounding six runs. Solomon started the rally with a single which was followed by a Fester single that found the gap in left. Izzo (on a 15-game hitting streak) kept the scrappy rally going with a single of his own, scoring Solomon as Sanzillo mimicked him just one at-bat later pushing Fester toward home. After an errant throw by Mike Ciancio, the Gettysburg pitcher made an even bigger mistake by serving up a monster-sized home run to -- guess who -- Pietroforte.
"For the first couple of games this season, I felt a little uncomfortable and I was definitely swaying too much in my stance," Pietroforte said. "But after working with some of the coaches, I've been able to stay back on some pitches and really drive the ball."
Pietroforte's power surge continued in the fifth inning with a solo round-tripper, a run that proved to be the difference maker in a game that saw the Hopkins pitching staff give up six runs, four of them earned. Angeloni wasn't sharp, but pitched well enough for his second win on the year. Closer DeLeo pitched two unblemished innings, striking out one and earning his second save of the season.
The Jays record stands at 17-4, and their conference record is a flawless 7-0. As of the April 10, they are ranked No. 19 (ABCA/Collegiate Baseball) in the country and are scheduled to play Catholic University in Washington, D.C. today at 3:30 p.m.
