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May 1, 2002

Results: The Blue Jays currently sport a 32-6 overall record and finished with a 16-2 mark in the Centennial Conference. Hopkins swept a doubleheader versus Ursinus (6-1 & 2-1), routed Gettysburg, 22-4, and concluded its CC schedule with a doubleheader split against Muhlenberg (8-11 & 14-3). JHU then defeated 30th-ranked Montclair State, 2-0, and Neuman College, 8-2, in non-conference action.

Up Next: JHU, the top seed in the Centennial Conference Tournament, will next play Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in the first game of a best-of-three series against the winner of the semifinal game of the tournament. JHU will then play Sunday at 12:00 p.m. and will possibly play a second game on Sunday depending on the results of the previous two contests.

The Coach: Bob Babb is in his 23rd 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 612-237-8 (.718) record. 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, four Centennial Conference Championships, and made nine appearances in the NCAA Division III Tournament.

Team & Player Notes

* JHU to Host Centennial Tournament: With a doubleheader split against Muhlenberg April 27, the Blue Jays secured the top seed for the inaugural Centennial Conference Baseball Tournament this weekend. Hopkins and Franklin & Marshall each finished with 16-2 conference records, but JHU earned the top seed as a result of its sweep of the Diplomats during the regular season. As the top seed, Hopkins will host games on Saturday and Sunday.

On Friday, No. 4 seed Muhlenberg will travel to play No. 3 seed Ursinus in Collegeville, Pa. at 3:30 p.m. The winner advances to play No. 2 seed Franklin & Marshall at Hopkins on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. The Blue Jays will then face the winner of Saturday's first game in a best-of-three series, with one game on Saturday and possibly two on Sunday. The winner of the CC Tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Regional Championships.

2002 Centennial Conference Tournament

Friday, May 3 (at Ursinus)
Game 1 - No. 4 Muhlenberg at No. 3 Ursinus, 3:30 pm

Saturday, May 4 (at Johns Hopkins)
Game 2 - Winner of Game 1 vs. No. 2 Franklin & Marshall, 11 am
Game 3 - Winner of Game 2 at No. 1 Johns Hopkins, 3:30 pm

Sunday, May 5 (at Johns Hopkins)
Game 4 - Johns Hopkins vs. Winner of Game 2, 12 pm
Game 5 - Winner of Game 2 at Johns Hopkins, 20 minutes after conclusion of Game 4 (if necessary)

* Seeds Versus Each Other: The top seeded Blue Jays posted a 5-1 record against the three other schools in the CC Tournament, while Franklin & Marshall was 4-2 with both losses coming against JHU. Muhlenberg was 2-4 versus the three higher seeds, and Ursinus posted a 1-5 mark.

* 30-Win Plateau: JHU defeated Muhlenberg April 27 for its 30th win of the year. The Blue Jays, who have had 23 consecutive winning seasons, reached the 30-win mark for the second straight year and the eighth time in school history. JHU can tie the school-record for wins in a season of 36 set by the 1998 team with five more victories. Hopkins has also won at least 25 games for 11 consecutive seasons. Below is a list of the seasons in which the Blue Jays have won at least 30 games:

Year, Record, Postseason
2002, 32-6 (.842), -
2001, 33-14 (.702), NCAA's
1998, 36-4 (.900), NCAA's
1994, 34-6 (.850), NCAA's
1992, 30-8 (.789), NCAA's
1989, 34-7 (.829), NCAA's
1986, 33-5-1 (.859), NCAA's
1985, 31-12 (.721), -

* Babb Reaches 600 Wins: Head coach Bob Babb picked up his 600th and 601st career victories with JHU doubleheader sweep of Franklin & Marshall April 6. He became the 14th active Division III head coach to win 600 games and currently sports a 612-237-8 (.718) career record in 23 seasons at Hopkins. Below is a list of Babb's milestone victories:

No., Opponent, Date, Score
1, Wilkes, 3/16/80, 5-4
100, Rochester, 3/15/85, 6-1
200, Mt. St. Mary's, 4/27/88, 20-13
300, Dickinson, 4/2/92, 15-1
400, Gettysburg, 4/28/95, 13-5
500, SUNY-Brockport, 3/17/99, 10-3
600, F & M ,4/6/02, 4-1

* Strength in Numbers: JHU has displayed its depth throughout the season as 25 players have seen action in the field and 12 pitchers have taken the mound. Twenty-two players have tallied at least one hit, while 23 players have scored a run and 21 players have at least one RBI. Thirteen players have scored 10 or more runs and 15 players have at least 10 runs batted in. Eight pitchers have started two or more games and all 12 pitchers have see action in three or more games.

* Power Surge: With one home run in the team's 6-1 win over Ursinus April 23, the Blue Jays now have 52 for the year to break the school-record of 45 set by the 1998 team. Hopkins has not homered in the last six games, yet is still averaging 1.37 home runs per game. JHU hit 31 home runs in 47 games last year. For the season, 17 players have hit a home run, while 11 players have three or more homers.

* Scoring in Bunches: The Blue Jays have scored 374 runs in the team's first 38 games for an average of 9.84 runs per game. Hopkins has scored 10 or more runs in 16 games and scored four or more runs in an inning 25 times. JHU scored a season-high 27 runs against Robert Morris, the most since a 30-0 win over Dickinson in 1987, and also scored 20 or more runs versus Dickinson (20-2) and Gettysburg (22-4). Last season, the Blue Jays averaged 7.02 runs per game for a total of 330 runs.

* Sineath Swipes Records: Last week, senior second baseman Karl Sineath became JHU's all-time leader in runs scored and stolen bases. Sineath scored three runs against Gettysburg to break the previous record of 163 held by John Christ and currently has 168 for his career. He has also tied his career-high with 42 runs to lead the team. Sineath stole one base versus Neumann College to set the stolen base record with 96 for career, breaking the previous mark of 95 held by Tom Finegan. He currently leads the team with 18 steals in 19 attempts. Sineath has also moved into a tie for fourth place at JHU with Johnny Craig with 176 career hits. He needs 10 more hits to move into second place.

*Rosenberg Sets Strikeout Mark: With nine strikeouts against Muhlenberg April 27, senior Yani Rosenberg became the school's all-time strikeout leader with 249 for his career. Rosenberg has won his last 16 decisions dating back to last season to improve his career record to 27-3 (.900). He is tied with Jason Setty for career winning percentage and needs just two wins to tie the school-record for career victories. Rosenberg's 16-game winning streak is the second longest in school history behind Scott Orlovsky, who won 19 straight decisions during the 1997 and 1998 seasons. He currently leads the team, and ranks third in Division III, with a 0.82 ERA.

* Setty Sets Career-High for Wins: With five strong innings against Neumann, senior Jason Setty improved to 6-0 on the year and 18-2 (.900). He allowed just one run on four hits while striking out five batters. Setty's six wins are a career-high and he has also totaled a career-high 23 strikeouts in 34 innings.

* Quick Notes:

~ Since the start of the 1990 season, Hopkins has posted a 372-141-1 (.724) record.

~ JHU sports a 125-36 (.776) all-time record in Centennial Conference games to rank first in the league.

~ Hopkins is hitting .355 (187-for-527) with runners in scoring position and .442 (19-for-43) with the bases loaded. Blue Jay pitchers have limited opponents to just a .232 combined average with runners on base.

~ The Blue Jays batted .353 in Centennial Conference games and averaged 9.38 runs per game. JHU also posted a 2.53 ERA against CC competition and limited opponents to a combined .187 batting average and 98 hits in 139 innings.

~ JHU has scored 121 runs with two outs. Sophomore Craig Cetta leads the club with 15 two-out RBIs, while senior Ben Taylor and sophomore Doug Hitchner have both to totaled 11 two-out RBIs.

~ Ben Taylor scored eight runs last week to pass the 100-run mark for his career and became the 10th player in school history to total 100 career runs and 100 career RBIs. Taylor leads the team with six home runs and currently ranks eight at JHU with 16 career homers. He has also scored at least one run in eight consecutive games.

~ Craig Cetta has over half of his team-leading 41 hits with runners in scoring position. He is 6-for-6 with the bases loaded and is batting .431 (22-for-51) with runners in scoring position. He led the team with 22 hits and 21 RBIs in Centennial games.

~ The Blue Jays have outscored opponents in every inning, with the largest margins in the first (67-16), third (69-25), and sixth (72-28) innings.

~ Sophomore Russ Berger, currently 4-0 with a 2.20 ERA, has won his last six starts dating back to the 2001 season. He has allowed more than three earned runs in a game just once in 20 career appearances.

~ Freshman Paul Winterling has batted .889 (8-for-9) in his last five games with four runs and six runs batted in.

~ Senior Mike DePalma is hitting .473 (9-for-19) over his last five games with seven runs and six RBIs. DePalma was 4-for-7 with four runs and three RBIs against Gettysburg and went 2-for-2 with two runs and two RBIs versus Neumann. He needs four runs and seven RBIs to reach 90 in both categories for his career.

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