The Hopkins Blue Jays continued their winning ways this week, besting the Gettysburg College Bullets on Thursday and the Ursinus College Bears twice in a double-header over the weekend. The last time that the Jays lost a game was at the beginning of April, in the opening series of their Centennial Conference play against the Haverford Fords. The Jays have won 12 games with one tie since then, and they appear to be firing on all cylinders as they approach postseason competition.
The Bullets were the first to get on the scoreboard, capitalizing on a leadoff double by junior outfielder Connor Tom, who scored after a sacrifice bunt and a ground out.
Sophomore pitcher Nick Burns ultimately gave up four runs on the day, a tally that proved to be surmountable.
The Jays were chasing one run going into the bottom half of the last inning. Senior catcher Mitch Weaver lead off with a single into center field. He would be replaced on the base paths by sophomore speedster Gabe Maymon who took second base on a wild pitch. Sophomore Zach Jaffe would eventually single so that Maymon could score, tying the game at four.
This set the stage for junior outfielder Brian Lin, who, with one home run up to this point this season, worked Gettysburg pitcher, junior Rich Power, to a full count with two outs. Lin turned on the next pitch, driving the ball over the left field fence.
“I wasn’t trying to hit it out. The count was full, so I knew he had to come in with a strike.” Lin said. “I just got some good barrel, and it happened to get out of the park.”
With a perfect stolen base percentage on the year, Lin showed off his speed on his “trot” around the bases, clocking a sub-19 second run on his first walk-off home run of his college career.
“I don’t always sprint around the bases when I hit a home run,” Lin said. “I just really wanted to get to my team as quickly as possible. They were all waiting for me at home plate.”
The Jays then went on to face Ursinus in a double-header on Saturday.
The Jays employed five pitchers in a first game effort that limited the Bears to two runs. Hopkins freshman pitcher Preston Betz was awarded the win, striking out four.
Junior first baseman Daniel Albert had a strong day at the plate, accounting for two home runs and four RBIs in the first game of the day.
Albert has been playing well recently, also homering against Gettysburg earlier in the week.
He views it as just hitting his stride at the right time.
“While our season is compact with games, I try to remember that is a marathon, and I have to approach every at bat individually,” Albert said. “This allows me to focus on executing my approach every pitch and not dwell on things. Having great teammates and coaches makes it easier to stick to my approach and have confidence.”
The Jays won the first matchup 8-2, and continued their winning ways, riding a four hit complete game by senior pitcher Carter Burns in game two. Albert also added two
more hits and an RBI in game two. TheJays have four games left in the regular season and are looking to continue riding the momentum that they have created the past few weeks.
“Our team has hit its stride, and we’re looking to keep things rolling,” Lin said. “It may have taken a while, and it definitely took a lot of hard work, but everyone is doing their best to contribute, coaches and players alike.”
Albert agreed.
“While it’s always fun when you’re winning, I think that what makes our program special is that we always have fun playing baseball when we are competing,” he said. “We have a tight knit team and our collection of personalities makes being on this team even more special.”
The Jays will take on the Washington College Shoremen this Saturday at Babb Field at Stromberg Stadium for the last home game of the regular season. Catch this team in action as they hope to push their winning streak to a lucky 13. Their rare mix of depth and talent should prove to be lethal in postseason competition.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The News-Letter.