If the saying "April showers bring May flowers" holds true, Baltimore should be inundated with flowers. The Hopkins baseball team was rained out yet again, as the doubleheader against Franklin & Marshall last Saturday was postponed to the coming Sunday. However, the game scheduled last Friday against Dickinson was actually played this past Monday.
Senior pitcher Dave Fioretti faced off against Dickinson sophomore Drew Swomley. Fioretti was perfect through his first three innings of work, retiring the first nine batters faced, with four of them being strikeouts. The Jays were unable to capitalize on a couple scoring opportunities in the first and second innings, but got on the board in the bottom of the third. Junior Dave Kahn led off the inning with a double and advanced to third on a bunt by senior Dan Merzel. Merzel also reached thanks to an error by Dickinson third baseman Ben Sciambi. Senior Todd Emr hit a fly ball to centerfield, scoring Kahn, giving Hopkins a 1-0 lead.
The Red Devils were able to get some baserunners on in the fourth inning against Fioretti. Sophomore Mike Schuster drew a walk and the next batter, freshman Jordan Kaufman, got on with a single. Fioretti was unfazed, striking out Tyler Rosa and Evan Hennessy. The next batter, sophomore Evan Farha, reached on an error by Hopkins shortstop Lee Bolyard, loading the bases. However, Fioretti put out the fire by striking out Ben Sciambi, escaping danger and protecting the lead.
There was no scoring until the sixth inning. Jesse Kaufman singled and stole second base. With a runner in scoring position, Evan Hennessy singled to center, driving in the run and tying the game in the process. Fioretti gave up another hit, but was able to escape the inning without allowing any more runs.
The Jays also did some scoring in the sixth inning. Lee Bolyard broke the tie with a solo homer off Drew Swomley. Juniors Brendan Walsh and Chris Huisman subsequently got on base with a single and walk respectively. The following batter, senior Dave Garber, hit the ball to Dickinson third baseman Ben Sciambi. Sciambi committed a throwing error, his third error of the game, allowing Walsh to score from second. Swomley was able to retire the next three Hopkins batters, leaving the score at 3-1 with Hopkins leading after six innings.
In the top of the eighth, Jordan Kaufman reached first after getting plunked. Tyler Rosa drove in Kaufman with a double to center and was thrown out at third trying for the triple. The score was 3-2 Hopkins. Fioretti struck out Hennessy but gave up a double to Farha and was pulled from the game. Dave put in a tremendous effort, going seven and two-thirds innings, allowing two runs over seven hits. He struck out an impressive twelve batters in the start. Reliever Greg Harbeck was able to get out the inning with the help of catcher John Swarr, who picked off Farha on a snap throw.
Dickinson rallied in the ninth inning against the Hopkins relief corps. Harbeck hit Sciambi with a pitch and was relieved by junior Matt Wiegand. Freshman Peter Bilali followed with a double, setting up runners on second and third with no outs. The following hitter, sophomore Bart Marchant, drove in the tying run with a fielder's choice Mike Schuster added a single to right field, which was misplayed by Hopkins right fielder Brian Youchak, allowing two more runs to score. Dickinson was up 5-3, entering the bottom of the ninth.
The Jays were not ready to give up. John Swarr led off the inning by drawing a walk against reliever Matt Teatom. Dave Kahn followed with a single, and Dan Merzel was hit by a pitch again. Suddenly the Jays were poised for a rally, with the bases loaded and no outs.
Freshman lefty reliever Sean White entered the game for Dickinson to faceoff against the left-handed hitting Youchak. Youchak hit a comebacker to White and this started a rare 1-2-3 double play. Following a walk to Emr, White-faced Bolyard and unleashed a wild pitch, scoring Kahn, the score was now 5-4 Dickinson. The Hopkins comeback fell short however, as Bolyard flied out to end the game. Matt Teatom got the win for Dickinson and Matt Wiegand took the loss. The Jays were 13-11 following the game.
"There is more parity in the conference this year than any other year that I have experienced," Merzel said after the loss. "Over half of the teams are in the hunt for playoff spots, so it will be interesting to see who comes out on top. Our approach right now is to take one game at a time and take care of our business. We haven't had enough success recently to worry about what other teams in the conference are doing. It is a pitch by pitch approach at this point."
The baseball team plays Washington College on Friday away and come back home to face Muhlenberg on a Saturday doubleheader. Game time is set at 12:30 p.m.
