This past weekend, the Hopkins baseball team headed into their Saturday evening with a celebratory attitude following a pair of dominant victories over visiting the Swarthmore College Garnet.
In the opening contest of the doubleheader, the Jays beat the Garnet by a 10-3 margin. Sophomore Nick Burns picked up the victory for the Jays on the mound, improving his record to 2-0 on the season.
The second game of the double header followed a similar narrative, as the Jays utilized power hitting and dominant work on the mound to breeze past Swarthmore by a 12-0 mark. Registering the win in this second contest was freshman Wyatt Lam, who pitched six scoreless innings of one-hit ball and recorded the first victory of his young career for the Jays. In the evening portion of the double header, the Jays offense was powered by four home runs, including two by junior shortstop Conor Reynolds.
With the victories, the Jays moved to 21-9-1 on the season, and are 8-2 in the Centennial Conference. The Garnet dropped to 18-12 with their two losses, and their Centennial Conference record sits at 2-6.
For the 25th consecutive season, the Jays have notched twenty or more victories.
The nine-game winning streak that the team is currently riding is their longest since the 2013 season, and the Jays sit in sole possession of first place in the Centennial Conference.
Paramount to the offensive explosion on Saturday were the contributions of sophomore outfielder Zach Jaffe, who crushed the first home run of his career in the fourth inning of the second game, a powerful blast which made it all the way to University Parkway.
In dramatic fashion, this towering shot also happened to be a grand slam that stretched Hopkins’ lead to six and officially put the game out of reach.
As a young, emerging player on this talented Jays squad, Jaffe will certainly remember this moment for the rest of his career. Hopefully for both Jaffe and his teammates, this is only just the beginning of many impact plays and outstanding home runs to come over the next two seasons.
Reflecting on the moments that directly led up to and followed his defining blast, Jaffe discussed how Swarthmore pitcher Aidan Miller had bested him in his earlier plate appearance, and that he wanted to be aggressive in order to avoid putting himself in another two strike count.
“I knew I was going to get a pitch to hit as he fell down 1-0 and it probably was going to be a fastball so I sat on it and was able to put a good swing on it. He struck me out in the at bat before on a high fastball and I didn’t want to let him get to two strikes,” Jaffe said. “It was incredible running the bases and delivering a key hit for us. I know my teammates were just as excited as I was when the ball left the park.”
Jaffe credits much of his recent success due to a profound growth in his emotional maturity and approach to the sport, crediting his teammates and coaches for humbling him and motivating him to become a better player.
“The biggest change for me has been mentally, I came in as a cocky freshman and the program, coaches and my teammates have humbled me and pushed me to work harder and have fun,” Jaffe said.
Whether he is able to regularly work his way into the starting lineup or continues to provide a spark off the bench for the Jays, Jaffe is committed to helping his team win and helping them achieve their goal of winning a Conference title and ultimately making it back to the College World Series.
“I hope to contribute any way I can heading towards the playoffs, whether it be as a spark off the bench or in the starting lineup. Our goal is to make it all the way to the College World Series in Appleton [Wisc]. just like it has been from day one. We know we can’t be beat when we’re firing on all cylinders,” Jaffe said.
You can catch this talented squad in action when they host the Gettysburg College Bullets at Babb field on Thursday, April 21. First pitch is at 3:30 p.m. in what should prove to be an exciting contest. The Bullets and Jays tied in their contest earlier this week, and Hopkins will look to get back on track.
