JHU Baseball Weekly Notes :: Blue Jays Put 10-Game Win Streak on the Line Tuesday at Montclair State

JHU Baseball Weekly Notes

Blue Jays Put 10-Game Win Streak on the Line Tuesday at Montclair State

Printer-Friendly Format

E-mail this article

Senior Tony Margve and the Blue Jays travel to Montclair State for a 7 p.m. game on Tuesday.

Baseball Home

HEADLINES

Three Current and Former Blue Jays to Represent JHU In 18th Maccabiah Games

Chez Angeloni Signs Free Agent Contract With Red Sox Organization

Johns Hopkins Baseball Season In Review

• Email this to a friend

April 22, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

Week In Review
The Blue Jays picked up five more wins last week and in doing so clinched the number one seed for the upcoming Centennial Conference playoffs. Hopkins picked up victories over Dickinson, Washington and Franklin & Marshall at home to go along with a victory over Dickinson on the road. Sophomore Brian Youchak hit .619 last week while senior Todd Emr was stroking the ball at a .588 clip.

The Week Ahead
Hopkins steps out of conference for a couple of games this week. On Tuesday, the Blue Jays visit Montclair State for a game under the lights. On Thursday, York College visits Baltimore in a make-up game that was postponed from earlier this year. Finally on Saturday, Hopkins wraps up the Centennial Conference regular season by hosting Haverford for a doubleheader.

Team/Individual Notes
I'm Honored: JHU sophomore outfielder Brian Youchak was named the Centennial Conference Player of the Week on Monday. Youchak hit .619 with 15 RBIs with three home runs. It is the second time this season, Youchak has earned player of the week honors. Teammate Brian Duddie earned a spot on the Centennial Conference Honor Roll as well.

I'll Take Three: Senior center fielder Rob Pietroforte's triple at Dickinson on Friday was his first of season and 12th of his career. Pietroforte needs one more three-bagger to tie the JHU career record for triples at 13.

Welcome to Baltimore: JHU's sweep of Franklin & Marshall on Saturday clinched the number one seed in the upcoming Centennial Conference Tournament. The Blue Jays, who are looking to defend their Centennial Conference title won last year in Lancaster, are hosting the tournament for the first time since 2004 season.

Going Deep Squared: The Blue Jays have two players who have homered twice in a game this season. Senior third baseman Todd Emr had a ball leave the yard twice at Ursinus on April 12. Youchak matched Emr's accomplishments with his two round trippers on Saturday against F&M.

Stranded: The Blue Jay bullpen has done a solid job of stranding inherited runners on base. In particular the duo of Matt Wiegand and Pete Smith has stranded 13 of 17 inherited runners. Wiegand has stranded all seven runners on base when he enters a game. Smith has allowed just four of the 10 runners he has inherited score.

Streaking: The Blue Jays are on their second double digit win streak of the season currently. Hopkins has won 10 straight which is tied for the tenth longest in school history. Earlier this season, the Blue Jays had a 13-game win streak which was tied for the sixth longest in school history.

King of the K's: The Hopkins pitching staff has recorded 238 strikeouts so far this season. The Blue Jays have 10 pitchers with at least 11 strikeouts on the season. That group is led by seniors Joe Zaccaria and Ryan Kuhlman. Zaccaria has 38 strikeouts while Kuhlman has sat down 29 batters this season.

Streaking (Part Two): Several Blue Jays will carry double digit hit streaks into Tuesday's contest at Montclair State. Pietroforte has currently hit in 18 straight contests while Youchak is on a 13-game streak. Emr has connected in 10 straight contests.

Rain Change: Just when it seems like the weather was finally cooperating with the baseball schedule, it strikes again. Monday's contest with TCNJ had to be postponed due to heavy rain in the area. That game will now be played on Monday, April 28 at 3:30 p.m.

Poll Position: The Blue Jays continue to stay among the nationally ranked teams this season. Hopkins moved up to sixth in the NCBWA/D3Baseball.com poll released on Tuesday. The Blue Jays are also ranked 13th in the ABCA poll released on Tuesday.

Senior Salute: The Blue Jays will take a brief moment to honor their 17 seniors prior to Saturday's doubleheader with Haverford. This senior class has compiled a four year record of 125-33-3 (.785) entering Tuesday's game at Montclair.

With Ducks on the Pond: Hopkins has done a good job of hitting this year with runners in scoring position. The Blue Jays are hitting .413 with runners in scoring position and .723 with a runner on third and less then two outs. Youchak is hitting .556 with runners in scoring position and .933 with a runner on third and less then two outs. Junior first baseman Ryan Biner is hitting .813 with a runner on third and less then two outs.

Double Your Pleasure: Hopkins needs 29 more doubles to match last season's record of 126. The Blue Jays also set the Centennial Conference record for doubles in a season last year. Hopkins has 97 doubles already this season and is led by Pietroforte and Biner who have 14 each.

Streaking (Part Three): During the current 10-game win streak, the Blue Jays are hitting .413 with an ERA of 2.93. Emr and Youchak are both hitting over .500 for the Blue Jays during that stretch. Duddie leads the squad with a 2.08 ERA during that stretch.

Get Ahead Early: Hopkins has found success when it scores early in games this year. The Blue Jays are 19-2 when they score in the first inning and 22-2 when they score first. The Blue Jays are out scoring opponents 91-24 in the first two innings of games.