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2002 Baseball Season Review
May 28, 2002
2002 Baseball Season Review
2002 Seniors
2002 Juniors
2002 Sophomores
2002 Freshmen
Blue Jays Continue Successful Tradition: The Johns Hopkins baseball team concluded another outstanding year with a 35-9 record, just one win shy of the school record, and a second straight Centennial Conference Championship with a 16-2 conference mark. The conference title was JHU's fifth overall and sent the Blue Jays to their fourth NCAA Tournament in the last six years and 11th overall.
* 30-Win Plateau: Hopkins defeated Muhlenberg, 14-3, April 27 to reach the 30-win mark for the second straight year and the eighth time in school history. JHU's 35 wins were just one shy of the school-record set by the 1998 squad, which posted a 36-4 mark. The Blue Jays also extended their streak of consecutive 25-win seasons to 11. Seasons in which the Blue Jays have won at least 30 games:
Year, Record, Postseason
* Babb Reaches 600 Wins: Head coach Bob Babb picked up his 600th and 601st career victories as JHU swept a doubleheader against Franklin & Marshall April 6. He became the 14th active Division III head coach to win 600 games and currently sports a 615-240-8 (.717) career record in 23 seasons at Hopkins. Under Babb's guidance, the Blue Jays have captured 10 Middle Atlantic Conference Southeast League titles, seven UAA titles, five Centennial Conference Championships, and made 10 NCAA Division III Tournament appearances. Babb's milestone victories:
No., Opponent, Date, Score
* Strength in Numbers: A strength for Hopkins all season was its depth. In all, 25 players saw action in the field and 12 took the mound. For the season, 23 players scored a run, 22 recorded a hit, and 21 drove in at least one run. Fifteen players drove in 10 or more runs, while 13 players scored 10 or more runs. Eight pitchers started at least two games, while 11 pitchers saw action in six or more games.
* Power Surge: Sophomore Sven Stafford belted two home runs, his fourth and fifth of the year, in the regular season finale against York to give Hopkins a school-record 57 in 44 games. The Blue Jays averaged 1.29 home runs per game to shatter the school-record of 45 set during the 1998 season. Eighteen players hit a home run and 11 smashed three or more round-trippers. Ben Taylor led the team with six homers, while Stafford, Joe Urban, Jay Cieri, and Carl Ippolito each belted five home runs.
* Scoring in Bunches: The Blue Jays scored 400 runs in 44 games for an average of 9.09 runs per game. Hopkins 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.
* Home Sweet Home: JHU finished the regular season with an 18-3 record at home, including a 10-0 mark against Centennial Conference teams. The Blue Jays went 12-2 at home last year. Over the last five seasons, Hopkins has posted a 64-16 (.800) when playing on friendly turf.
* Sineath Swipes Records: Senior second baseman Karl Sineath led Hopkins with 45 runs scored and 20 stolen bases to become JHU's all-time leader in both categories. Sineath scored three runs against Gettysburg April 24 to break the previous mark of 163 held by John Christ and finished his career with 171. He then stole one base versus Neumann College to set the stolen base record with 98 for his career, breaking Tom Finegan's school-record of 95. Sineath is also tied for second in school history with 185 career hits.
*Rosenberg Sets Strikeout Mark: With nine strikeouts against Muhlenberg April 27, senior Yani Rosenberg became the school's all-time strikeout leader, breaking the mark of 241 set by Steve Hand. He finishes his career with 260 strikeouts, just the third player in JHU history to strikeout over 200 hitters, and has posted three of the top eight single-season strikeout totals in school history. This season, Rosenberg totaled 72 strikeouts in 71 innings en route to a 9-1 record and a 1.52 ERA. He won 17 straight decisions, the second longest streak in JHU history, during the 2001 and 2002 seasons and ranks third at Hopkins with 28 career wins. Rosenberg also ranks third at JHU in career winning percentage (.875, 28-4).
* Setty Sets Career-High for Wins: With five strong innings against Neumann April 29, senior Jason Setty improved to 6-0 on the year and 18-2 (.900) for his career. He allowed just one run on four hits while striking out five batters. Setty's six wins are a career-high and he totaled a career-high 24 strikeouts against just five walks in 34.1 innings this year.
*Taylor Reaches 100 Runs & RBIs: Senior Ben Taylor totaled 27 RBIs and a career-high 41 runs this season to pass the 100-mark in both categories for his career. He is the 10th player in school history to total over 100 career runs and RBIs and finishes with 106 runs and 106 RBIs for his career. Taylor also led the team with six home runs and ranks eighth at Hopkins with 16 career homers.
* Catching Duo Excels At/Behind Plate: After batting a combined .209 (26-for-124) during the 2001 season, the catching duo of senior Tom Prevas and sophomore Doug Hitchner posted a major turnaround this season. Prevas batted .317 (19-for-60) and Hitchner hit .364 (24-for-66) for a combined average of .341 (43-for-126). Hitchner had a team-best 13-game hitting streak during the year and was tied for second on the team with 11 two-out RBIs. Prevas and Hitchner batted a combined .357 (20-for-56) with runners in scoring position and combined for just one error in 259 total chances.
*Ippolito & Cetta Have Breakout Years: Sophomores Carl Ippolito and Craig Cetta were two of JHU's top players all year long. Ippolito started the year with a bang as he batted .442 (19-for-43) in his first 11 games with 16 runs and 17 runs batted in. He continued to play well and led the team with 12 multiple-RBI games and added 11 multi-hit games. Ippolito finished the year third on the team in hits (42), second in runs batted in (38), third in runs scored (36), while adding eight doubles and five home runs.
Cetta led the club with 39 RBIs and 47 hits, while placing sixth on the team with 33 runs scored. He also added 10 doubles, four home runs, and nine stolen bases. Cetta was second on the team with 13 multiple-hit games and second with 10 multiple-RBI contests.
*Urban Posts Another Solid Season: Junior Joe Urban, in his second year as a starter, had another quality campaign in right field. He hit .369 (41-for-111), was third on the team in RBIs (34), fourth in runs (35), and added nine doubles and five home runs. Urban totaled nine multiple-RBI games and nine multiple-run games, while adding 10 multiple-hit games. Last season, Urban led the team with a .384 average while adding 29 runs, 35 runs batted in, and seven home runs. He is a .372 hitter for his career and boasts a career slugging percentage of .607.
*Several Players Key to JHU's Depth: A number of players combined to give Hopkins quality depth and solid production throughout the season. Freshman Mike Durgala, who made a combined 18 starts at third base and as the designated hitter, led the Blue Jays in hitting for most of the season before finishing second on the team with a .412 average. He also added 15 runs, four home runs, and 21 runs batted in. Sophomore Brian Morley hit .373 (19-for-51) with 14 runs, four home runs, and 13 RBIs, while sophomore Sven Stafford belted five home runs and added 15 RBIs.
Sophomore Tim Casale made 14 starts in the infield and totaled 21 runs and 10 RBIs, while placing second on the team with 10 stolen bases. Sophomore Rob Morrison batted .295 (18-for-61) with 24 runs scored, three home runs, nine runs batted in, and three stolen bases.
* 2002 Centennial Champions: After posting a 16-2 Centennial record and earning the top seed in the conference tournament, the Blue Jays defeated Muhlenberg twice for JHU's second straight CC Championship and fifth overall. Hopkins also won the Centennial during the 1994, 1997, 1998, and 2001 seasons. Ursinus is next in the conference with three titles, while Franklin & Marshall has won one CC title. Overall, JHU sports a 125-36 (.776) all-time record in Centennial Conference games to rank first in the league. JHU's Centennial Championship seasons:
Year, Centennial, Overall
Blue Jay Quick Notes:
~ Since the start of the 1990 season, Hopkins has posted a 375-144-1 (.722) record. Entering the season, the Blue Jays ranked 17th in Division III for the most wins since 1990, and 14th in winning percentage since 1990.
~ JHU sports a 125-36 (.776) all-time record in Centennial Conference games to rank first in the league.
~ Hopkins hit .344 (199-for-578) with runners in scoring position this year and .438 (21-for-48) with the bases loaded. Blue Jay pitchers limited opponents to just a .235 combined average with runners in scoring position and .217 average with two outs. JHU leaders with runners in scoring position:
Player, Average, Hits-At Bats
~ 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. Blue Jay leaders against Centennial Conference opponents:
Player, Gms, Statistics
~ JHU drove in 128 runs with two outs compared to 62 for the opponents. Sophomore Craig Cetta led the club with 15 two-out RBIs, while senior Ben Taylor and sophomores Carl Ippolito and Doug Hitchner each totaled 11 two-out RBIs and juniors Joe Urban and Jay Cieri both added 10. Blue Jay batters combined to hit .333 (160-for-480) with two outs, while Hopkins pitchers held opponents to just a combined .217 (95-for-437) average with two men down.
~ Senior Mike DePalma finished the season on an eight-game hitting streak. During that stretch, he batted .548 (17-for-31) with 10 runs and six RBIs. DePalma raised his average to a team-best .449 and finishes his career with a .364 (138-for-379) average.
~ Of his team-leading 47 hits, Craig Cetta smacked 23 with runners in scoring position. He was 6-for-7 with the bases loaded and batted .404 (23-for-57) with runners in scoring position. He also led the team with 22 hits and 21 RBIs in Centennial games.
~ The Blue Jays outscored opponents in every inning, with the largest margins in the first (70-21), third (70-26), and sixth (76-31) innings. Hopkins outscored opponents 400-to-187 for the season, or an average of 4.84 runs per game.
~ In 21.1 career innings pitched, sophomore Sven Stafford has allowed just two earned runs and nine hits while striking out 21. This season, Stafford recorded a 0.55 ERA in 16.1 innings while striking out 16 and allowing just seven hits and three walks. He also batted .366 (15-for-41) and added five home runs and 15 RBIs.
~ Senior John Krivonak batted a career-best .340 with a career-high 34 hits and 19 runs batted in. Krivonak had nine multiple-hit games and was fifth on the team in on-base percentage (.456).
~ JHU broke the school-record for being hit by a pitch as Blue Jay batters were plunked 48 times in 2002. John Krivonak was hit a team-high 10 times, while Ben Taylor was hit six times and Karl Sineath was plunked five times. Hopkins broke the previous mark of 44 set during the 1994 season.
~ Sophomore Matt Righter finished the season on a high note as he allowed just one run in his last five appearances while striking out six in 8.2 innings. This season, he pitched in 14 games, making four starts, and was fifth on the team with a 3.35 ERA. He recorded one complete game and one save while holding opponents to a combined .231 average. Righter performed better in relief as he allowed just 11 hits and posted a 0.49 ERA in 18.1 innings compared to 22 hits and a 6.06 ERA in 19.1 innings as a starter.
~ Blue Jay pitchers combined for 283 strikeouts in 356 innings to fall just seven strikeouts short of the school-record of 290 set last season in 373.2 innings. Five JHU pitchers totaled more strikeouts than hits allowed:
Pitcher, Innings, Strikeouts, Hits Allowed
~ Hopkins was 10-2 in games decided by two runs or less and 20-2 in games decided by five runs or more. The Blue Jays won 13 games by eight runs or more. JHU was 4-0 in Centennial games decided by two runs or less and 6-0 against conference competition in contests decided by more than eight runs. Games decided by two runs or less:
Date, Opponent, W/L, Score
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