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Baseball NCAA Tournament Notes
May 13, 2003
Complete Release in PDF Format
NCAA Tournament: Johns Hopkins is making its 12th appearance in the NCAA Regional Tournament, the third straight, and 11th under head coach Bob Babb. The Blue Jays, who finished the regular season with a 32-5 overall record and a 16-2 mark in the Centennial Conference, earned a spot in the tournament by winning the Centennial for the third consecutive season and sixth time overall. Hopkins concluded the regular season with a 16-5 win a home versus York College last Wednesday. JHU has won four straight and 15 of its last 16 games.
The Blue Jays sport a 14-23 (.378) all-time record in the NCAA Tournament, including a 1-2 mark last season. Hopkins earned the top seed a year ago after finishing 34-7 during the regular season. The Blue Jays lost their opener to the College of New Jersey, rebounded to defeat Kean in their second game, but were then eliminated by DeSales on the third day of the tournament. JHU's best finish in the NCAA's came during the 1989 season when the team advanced to the College World Series and eventually took third place. The Blue Jays also reached the NCAA tournament during the 1976, 1980, 1986, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2001 and 2002 seasons.
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 647-245-8 (.723) 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, six Centennial Conference Championships, and made 11 appearances in the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Team & Player Notes
* Three-Peat: After earning the top seed in the Centennial Playoffs with a 16-2 conference record, Hopkins defeated Muhlenberg twice in the best-of-three championship series to win its third consecutive conference title. The Blue Jays won the first game, 9-2, and captured the title with a 6-4 win in the second game. JHU has won six Centennial Conference titles, which is most in the league, while Ursinus has won three and Franklin & Marshall has won one. Hopkins also captured the Centennial title during the 1994, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002 seasons. Overall, JHU sports a 141-38 (.787) all-time record in Centennial Conference games to rank first in the league.
Centennial Championship seasons:
* 30-Win Plateau: With Hopkins' 9-2 win over Muhlenberg in the Centennial Conference Playoffs, the Blue Jays reached the 30-win mark for the third straight year and the ninth time in school history. JHU's 32 wins are just four shy of the school-record set by the 1998 squad, which posted a 36-4 mark. Hopkins won 35 games last year and 33 during the 2001 season. The Blue Jays also extended their streak of consecutive 25-win seasons to 12 and have not had a losing season under head coach Bob Babb. Seasons in which the Blue Jays have won at least 30 games:
Year, Record, Postseason
* Strength in Numbers: Once again, depth has been a key factor for JHU's success this season. Through 37 games, 24 players saw time in the field and 11 pitchers took the mound. Twenty-two players have recorded at least one RBI, while 22 players have scored a run and 23 players have tallied at least one hit. Thirteen players have driven in 10 or more runs, while 14 players have scored at least one run. Eight pitchers have started two games this year and 10 pitchers have made at least five appearances.
* Scoring in Bunches: The Blue Jays have scored 338 runs in 37 games for an average of 9.13 runs per game. Hopkins has scored 10 runs or more in 15 games, including a school-record 32 runs in a 32-2 win against Washington on April 14. The Blue Jays also scored 23 runs against Swarthmore in a 23-8 on April 6. JHU has scored at least four runs in an inning on 24 occasions. Last season, the Blue Jays averaged 9.09 runs in 44 games for a total of 400 runs.
* Blue Jays Set Homer Mark: Sophomore Mike Spiciarich hit two home runs and freshman Corey Gleason added one against York to give Hopkins a school-record 58 home runs in 37 games. The Blue Jays averaged 1.56 home runs per game to break the mark of 57 set last season in 44 games. A total of 17 players have hit at least one home run, while eight players have three or more homers. Sophomores Paul Winterling and Mike Durgala are tied for the team lead with 10 home runs. Junior Craig Cetta has a career-high six home runs, while senior Jay Cieri and sophomore Paul Long have both added five homers.
* Winning Big: Hopkins has won 16 games by seven runs or more this season, including 12 games by nine runs or more, and is outscoring opponents by an average margin of 5.86 runs per game. JHU is 19-1 in games decided by five or more runs. Last season, JHU won a total of 14 games by at least seven runs.
* Streaking: The Blue Jays have posted three winning streaks of eight games or more this season, including an 11-game winning streak April 14 through April 28. Hopkins won eight straight games to start the year and also won eight consecutive games from March 23 through April 6. JHU has nine 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 16-2 record in Centennial Conference games, Hopkins has improved to 141-38 (.787) all-time in conference games, which is tops in the league. The Blue Jays are 45-9 (.833) in Centennial contests since the start of the 2001 season. JHU batted .353 in Centennial games and averaged 9.66 runs per game, while limiting conference opponents to a .214 combined average and 2.50 runs per contest.
* All-Centennial Conference: Seven Johns Hopkins baseball players were honored on the 2003 All-Centennial Conference baseball teams as selected by the conference's 10 head coaches. The Blue Jays, who won their third straight Centennial Conference Championship and sixth overall, placed four players on the first team and three on the second team.
Senior Jeremy Brown and sophomore Paul Winterling highlighted the group as they earned Pitcher of the Year and Player of the Year honors, respectively. Brown became JHU's third straight Pitcher of the Year selection and fifth in the last seven seasons, while Winterling is the sixth Blue Jay to earn Player of the Year honors and first since 2000.
Brown leads the team with a career-high seven wins and has posted a 3.38 ERA in 58.2 innings pitched. He also leads the team in starts (9), complete games (5) and strikeouts (70), while limiting opponents to a combined .211 average. Brown, who pitched a no-hitter against Lakeland in his first start of the year, has recorded double figure strikeouts in three games and sports a 14-5 record for his career.
Winterling, who earned Centennial honors for the first time, has had an exceptional campaign in his second year as a Blue Jay. He is batting .404 with a team-high 44 hits in 109 at-bats and leads the team with 42 runs, 12 doubles, 12 stolen bases and a .826 slugging percentage. Winterling is also tied for the team lead with 10 home runs and second with 40 runs batted in.
Joining Brown and Winterling on the first team were sophomore second baseman Mike Spiciarich and senior designated hitter Jay Cieri. Spiciarich earned Centennial honors for the first time in his first season as a starter. He is batting .422 with 38 hits in 90 at-bats and has also totaled 33 runs scored, 11 doubles, eight stolen bases, 15 RBIs and a team-high three triples.
Cieri, who was named to the second team a year ago, has batted .356 with 32 hits in 90 at-bats from the leadoff position. He leads the Blue Jays in walks (27) and on-base percentage (.517), while ranking third in runs scored (32) and stolen bases (10). Cieri has added five home runs, 16 RBIs and three doubles.
Earning second team honors were sophomore first baseman Mike Durgala, sophomore third baseman Paul Long and junior outfielder Craig Cetta. Cetta was named to the second team for the second straight season, while Durgala and Long received Centennial honors for the first time.
Cetta is batting .350 with 36 hits in 103 at-bats and has totaled 27 runs scored and 27 runs batted in. He is also third on the team with a career-high six home runs, while adding seven stolen bases, five doubles and two triples.
Durgala leads the team with 42 runs batted in, is tied for the team lead with 10 home runs and is hitting .385 with 40 hits. He is second on the team with 33 runs scored and a .760 slugging percentage, while adding nine doubles and eight stolen bases. In his first year as a starter, Long is hitting .372 with 35 hits in 94 at-bats. He is second on the team with 11 stolen bases and has totaled 27 runs, nine doubles, five home runs and 23 runs batted in.
The Blue Jays have had 33 first-team All-Centennial selections since the conference began in 1994.
* Record-Breaking Performance: In Hopkins' 32-2 win over Washington College, the Blue Jays set a school record for runs in a game and tied the NCAA Division III record for grand slams, while Paul Winterling tied one NCAA mark and fell just shy of another. Winterling tied the NCAA record with two grand slams in one game and totaled 11 runs batted in, just one RBI shy of the record. Bryan Eberle added a grand slam as JHU became just the second school in Division III to hit three grand slams in a game. Winterling also hit a three-run home run as the Blue Jays belted eight home runs in the game.
* Winterling Having Breakout Year: Paul Winterling is having a tremendous season as he leads the Blue Jays in nearly every major offensive category. He is hitting .404 and is tops on the team in runs (42), hits (44), doubles (12), total bases (90), stolen bases (12) and slugging percentage (.826). Winterling is also tied for the team lead with 10 home runs and second with 40 runs batted in. His 10 home runs rank fifth on the JHU single season list.
*Durgala Solid in Cleanup Spot: After a sensational freshman season, sophomore Mike Durgala is having another outstanding campaign. He is hitting .385 with 40 hits in 104 at-bats and is tied for the team lead with 10 home runs, while leading the club with 42 RBIs. Durgala, who has been hit by a pitch a team-high 10 times this season, is also second on the team with 33 runs scored and has totaled nine doubles, eight stolen bases and a .760 slugging percentage.
* 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 (27) and on-base percentage (.517), while ranking third with 32 runs scored. Cieri, who is batting .356 with 32 hits in 90 at-bats, has also hit five home runs and totaled 16 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.
* Pitching Staff Continues to Shine: Blue Jay pitchers have not allowed more than six runs in the last 18 games and have given up four runs or less in 29 or 37 games to lower the team's combined ERA to 3.11. JHU has struck out 284 batters in 289.2 innings and needs just seven strikeouts to set a school single-season record. The 2001 squad set the school mark with 290 strikeouts in 373.2 innings, while last year's team finished with 283 strikeouts in 356.0 innings.
Nine of the 10 JHU pitchers that have seen action in five or more contests have an ERA of 3.50 or lower. Senior Jeremy Brown has recorded 34 strikeouts in his last three starts and leads the team with 70 strikeouts, while Ryan McConnell struck out a season-high nine against Muhlenberg in the Centennial Conference Playoffs. The Blue Jays have five shutouts after posting three all of last season and have allowed two or fewer runs in 16 games. JHU pitchers have 47 more strikeouts (284) than hits allowed (237) and seven Blue Jays have recorded as many strikeouts or more strikeouts than hits allowed.
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