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Baseball Weekly Notes 4/8
April 8, 2003
Complete Release in PDF Format
Results: The Blue Jays went 5-0 last week to stretch their winning streak to eight games and improve to 17-2 overall and 5-0 in the Centennial Conference. JHU opened the week with a 14-5 win at home versus Dickinson, then travelled to defeat Catholic, 13-2, and Dickinson, 11-4. Hopkins concluded the week with a doubleheader sweep of Swarthmore at home (4-3, 23-8).
Up Next: The Blue Jays were scheduled to open this week at home versus Washington College on Tuesday, but the game has been postponed to Wednesday due to inclement weather. JHU will then play at Washington on Friday at 3:30 p.m. and remain on the road with a doubleheader at Franklin & Marshall on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
The Coach: Bob Babb is in his 24th season as head coach of the Blue Jay baseball. Babb, who is the all-time winningest men's baseball coach in JHU history, sports a 632-242-8 (.721) record. Last season, Babb became the 14th active Division III head coach with 600 wins as JHU defeated Franklin & Marshall, 4-1, on April 6. Under Babb's guidance, Hopkins has captured 10 Middle Atlantic Conference Southeast League titles, seven UAA titles, five Centennial Conference Championships, and made 10 appearances in the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Team & Player Notes
* Winning Ways: Hopkins is off to another exceptional start with a 17-2 record through 19 games. Including this year, the Blue Jays have posted a 392-146-1 (.728) record since the start of the 1990 season. In that time, JHU has won five Centennial titles and reached the NCAA Tournament seven times. The Blue Jays have also won at least 25 games for 11 consecutive seasons and have not had a losing season in 23 years under coach Babb.
* Strength in Numbers: Through the first 19 games, JHU has displayed its depth with 23 players seeing time in the field and 11 pitchers taking the mound. Twenty-one players have recorded at least one RBI, while 20 players have scored a run and 21 players have tallied at least one hit. Eight pitchers have started a game this year and 10 pitchers have made at least three appearances.
* Scoring in Bunches: The Blue Jays have scored 186 runs in the team's first 19 games for an average of 9.78 runs per game. Hopkins has scored 10 runs or more in nine games, with a season-high 23 runs, including 12 in the first inning, against Swarthmore in the second game of a doubleheader. JHU has scored at least four runs in an inning on 15 occasions. Hopkins is averaging 13 runs in its last six games and has scored at least 11 runs in five of those contests. Last season, the Blue Jays averaged 9.09 runs in 44 games for a total of 400 runs.
* Winning Big: Hopkins has won nine games by seven runs or more this season and is outscoring opponents by an average margin of 5.73 runs per game. Last season, JHU won a total of 14 games by seven runs or more.
* Power Surge: JHU has hit 30 home runs in the first 19 games for an average of 1.57 home runs per game. If the team maintains the current pace over the final 19 regular season games, the Blue Jays would finish with a school-record 60 home runs. Hopkins set the school mark with 57 home runs in 44 games a year ago. Sophomores Mike Durgala and Paul Winterling lead the team with six home runs, while senior Jay Cieri and junior Craig Cetta have added three homers each.
* Clutch Hitting: Hopkins is hitting .361 (88-for-244) with runners in scoring position and .345 (70-for-203) with two outs. Blue Jay pitchers have limited opponents to just a .227 combined average with runners on base. Paul Winterling has been the most productive player for JHU with a .500 (13-for-26) average with runners in scoring position. Craig Cetta and Mike Durgala both have seven hits with runners in scoring position.
* Streaking: The Blue Jays are currently riding an eight-game winning streak since their last loss to Elizabethtown on March 19. Hopkins also won eight straight games to start the season and has posted eight winning streaks of five games or more since the start of the 2001 season. JHU won 10 consecutive games at one point last season, while the school record for consecutive wins is 18 set by the 1989 team.
* Centennial Dominance: With its 5-0 start in Centennial Conference play, Hopkins has improved to 130-36 (.783) all-time in conference games, which is tops in the league. The Blue Jays are 34-7 (.829) in Centennial contests since the start of the 2001 season.
* Winterling Having Breakout Year: Paul Winterling is off to a tremendous start as he leads the team in runs (22), hits (23), doubles (7), RBIs (23) and is tied for the team lead in home runs (6). Winterling, who is hitting .426 with 23 hits in 54 at-bats, has hit safely in 12 consecutive games and totaled five stolen bases. He also leads the team with six multiple-run games and seven multiple-RBI games.
* Cieri Leads the Way: Senior Jay Cieri has been one of JHU's top hitters this season from the leadoff spot. He leads the team in walks (17) and on-base percentage (.610), while ranking second with 21 runs scored. Cieri, who is batting .452 with 19 hits in 42 at-bats, has also hit three home runs and totaled 11 RBIs. Last season, Cieri walked 30 times, just six walks shy of the school single-season record, and posted a team-best .508 on-base percentage.
*Spiciarich Leads Team in Hitting: Sophomore Mike Spiciarich is off to an excellent start this season and continues to lead the team in hitting with a .515 (17-for-33) average. He leads the team with three triples, while adding 12 runs, three doubles, six stolen bases and nine runs batted in. Spiciarich, who has seen time at second and third base, is second on the team with a .879 slugging percentage and a .585 on-base percentage.
* Quick Notes: Junior Russ Berger improved to 3-0 with a win against Dickinson last week and is now 12-4 for his career ... senior Joe Urban recorded his 100th career hit last week and is the team's active career leader in runs (82), hits (102) and RBIs (76) ... junior Bryan Eberle belted his first career grand slam, while freshman Corey Gleason added a three-run homer, the first of his career, in JHU's 13-2 win at Catholic ... junior Craig Cetta has recorded an RBI in eight of his last 10 games.
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