Baseball drops three before spring break in Arizona

The Hopkins Blue Jay
baseball team looked to
take their victory over York
last Wednesday into the
weekend and beginning
half of this week in order
to gain some momentum
before their annual spring
break trip to Arizona.
However, the past three
games did not end exactly
how the Blue Jays had
planned.
On Friday, the Jays took
on the Mustangs of Stevenson.
Hopkins jumped out
to an early lead in the first
inning behind junior first
baseman Jeff Lynch. Senior
catcher and co-captain
Aaron Borenstein reached
base, and Lynch drove him
home with a double in the
left-center field gap.
In the second inning,
the Jays brought in two
more runs off of a couple of
hits and walks. At the end
of the second inning, the
Blue Jays were up 3-0 on
the Mustangs.
Senior right-hander and
co-captain Alex Eliopolous
was on the hill for the
Blue Jays. Eliopolous was
dominant throughout the
game, leaving the Mustang
hitters guessing on every
pitch. The Mustangs did
not cross home until the
seventh inning.
Eliopolous finished with
eight strikeouts through
seven innings while only
yielding one run. The sixfoot-
six, 205-pounder felt
strong after his outing.
"I felt like I pitched really
well, but late in the
game the ball bounced
Stevenson's way," he said.
"We got really unlucky
with the rest of the game,
but knowing our team, we
will bounce back."
Once Eliopolous exited
the game in the eighth inning,
the Mustangs saw
their chance to come back
and used the pitching
change to their advantage.
The Mustangs led off the
inning with a home run on
Eliopolous' final pitch of
the game, and they did not
stop there. Stevenson put
up three more runs in the
inning to take a 5-3 lead after
the eighth inning.
The Blue Jays then retook
the lead in the ninth
once again behind the bat
of Lynch. Lynch finished
the day two-for-three with
three RBIs. Going into the
bottom half of the inning,
the Blue Jays were up one
run, and it looked like they
were going to close out the
victory. However, the Mustangs
had other plans.
Stevenson manufactured
a run in the ninth
and tied the game. The
game would end there
due to darkness. Oddly
enough, this was the second
time this season that
Hopkins had tied a team
this season.
The Blue Jays then returned
to the field in the
Nation's capital, taking
on the Catholic Cardinals.
Once again, the Blue Jays
jumped out to an early lead
with junior catcher Ryan
Zakszeski launching his
first home run of the season
to bring around two
runs. The Cardinals then
cut the lead in half, scoring
one run in the second
inning.
The Blue Jays responded
by scoring two more runs
in the third. Hopkins put
together three straight singles
courtesy of junior middle-
infielders Kyle Neverman
and Mike Kanen,
followed by a knock from
Borenstein. The Blue Jays
had two runners cross
home plate in the inning
and left the top half of the
inning leading 4-1.
Sophomore right-handed
pitcher Tyler Goldstein
made his first career start
for the Blue Jays and had
solid stuff. Goldstein was
throwing with good velocity
and off-speed pitches,
but, the second time around
the line-up, Catholic started
piling on hits. The Cardinals
entered the game with
a solid lineup - averaging
nearly six runs per game -
and this day was no exception.
The Cardinals put up
five runs in the third inning
on six hits to take a 6-4 lead.
Each team tacked on
one more run on the day,
but, ultimately, the Cardinals
left the field with a
hard-fought victory, 7-6.
The Blue Jays then traveled
to Ashland, Virginia
to face Randolph-Macon on
Tuesday to complete their
four-game road trip. For the
third game in a row, the Blue
Jays started with runs. The
Blue Jays struck first with a
double from Kanen, driving
in Neverman. The Blue Jays
then racked up four more
runs and posted five runs
total in the first inning.
Senior right-hander and
co-captain Sam Eagleson
was on the mound for the
Blue Jays and was lights
out for the first few innings.
After two innings,
Eagleson had struck out
five batters.
The Yellow Jackets responded
in the next few innings,
however, stringing a
few hits together to cut the
Hopkins to one, 5-4.
In the top of the fifth, senior
designated hitter J.R.
Santaniello belted a deep
home run to extend the
Blue Jays' lead to 6-4. However,
the two run lead was
not enough for Hopkins.
Randolph-Macon responded
with nine runs on seven
hits in the bottom half of
the frame and cruised to
victory from then on, 15-8.
Despite the back-to-back
losses, the Blue Jays know
they can bounce back and
quickly become a dominant
force during their Arizona
spring break trip. Hopkins
has been jumping out to
quick leads, but unlucky
breaks have crippled them
in the later innings. The
Blue Jays leave for Arizona
this coming Thursday and
play ten games in Tempe, including
games at the spring
training complexes of the
Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati
Reds. Their first game
will be on Friday against
Springfield at 11 a.m. MT.
Once the Blue Jays return,
they will begin Centennial
Conference play
against Dickinson on Tuesday,
Mar. 27th.