Box Score

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Gettysburg shut out Johns Hopkins over the first five innings, but the Blue Jays scored 11 runs the rest of the way and topped the Bullets 11-5 in Centennial Conference baseball action Tuesday afternoon at Kirchhoff Field.

After throwing a complete-game masterpiece against Johns Hopkins last season, junior Ryan Taylor was impressive against the Blue Jays again in the early going. He tossed five scoreless innings to start the game but was touched for seven runs (five earned) over the next 1 2/3 innings.

Gettysburg (14-10, 3-6 CC) scored the game's first run but Johns Hopkins (17-8-2, 8-1 CC) came back with seven unanswered over the sixth and seventh innings to assume a 7-1 lead. The Bullets answered with a four-spot in the bottom of the seventh to close to within 7-5, but the Blue Jays answered with two runs apiece in the eighth and ninth en route to their fifth straight win.

The Bullets roped a season-high five extra-base hits, with junior Pat Cody, senior Clint O'Brien, sophomore Dan Budin, and sophomore Patrick O'Grady all legging out a triple.

Mike Kanen finished 2-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs for Johns Hopkins while slugging a two-run homer that put the Blue Jays in front in the sixth. Sam Eagleson (2-3) went six innings to earn the win for the Blue Jays.

Sophomore Al Posch went 0-for-3 with a pair of walks for Gettysburg, ending his 17-game hitting streak.

Last season, Taylor retired the final 25 batters he faced in a 3-0 loss to Hopkins, throwing eight perfect innings after allowing three runs in the first. On Tuesday, he struck out seven batters in the first five innings as he extended his consecutive scoreless inning streak versus the Blue Jays to 13.

In the bottom of the fifth O'Brien tripled leading off for the Bullets first hit of the game against Eagleson, blasting the first pitch over the centerfielder. Then with two outs, O'Grady followed up with a three-bagger of his own down the rightfield line to make it 1-0. 

The Blue Jays leadoff hitter, Kyle Neverman, reached on an error to start the sixth, and one batter later Kanen pulled his two-run homer to right. Hopkins added another run on three singles and a wild pitch to go ahead 3-1.

The visitors opened up some breathing room with their four-run, five-hit seventh. Jeff Lynch made it a 6-1 game with a two-out, two-run double, then went on to score on a double steal. Freshman Eric Hungerford reduced further damage with an inning-ending strikeout.

Taylor (3-3) finished with eight strikeouts and only one walk in 6 2/3 innings.

The Bullets came up with four runs of their own in the bottom of the inning. They loaded the bases with no outs against Eagleson, getting pinch-hit double from sophomore Mike Elisio and a pinch single from sophomore Ben Roessle, prompting a pitching change. Sophomore Austin Davis beat out a grounder to the first-base side against reliever Blake Platt to make it 7-2 before Cody ripped a two-run triple three batters later as the Bullets pulled to within 7-5.

Johns Hopkins added two against Hungerford in the eighth and two against junior Brett Norton in the ninth, when freshman Kyle Beldoch came on with the bases loaded to get the final out. In the meantime, reliever Aaron Schwartz blanked the Bullets over the last two innings.

The two teams complete their season series on Friday, when they play another nine-inning game in Baltimore starting at 3:30 p.m.