Last week, the Blue Jays headed down to sunny Fort Myers, Florida to compete in the 2017 Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic. With eight consecutive days of games, including a couple doubleheaders, every Jay was able to see considerable time on the field. Hopkins returned to Baltimore Saturday night with an 8-3 record in Fort Myers and a 14-5 record for their season thus far.
“We saw some quality competition, and it was great to see some of our younger guys stepping up in big situations for us. Winning eight out of the 11 games we played was huge for us, and hopefully we keep the momentum for Conference play,” senior catcher Ryan Orgielewicz said.
The Blue Jays defeated New York University, SUNY Old Westbury, St. Joseph’s College, Colby College twice and Vassar College, all within the first five days of the Classic.
The Jays raced out to a 6-0 record heading into their sixth day of play. During the remainder of the Classic, Hopkins fell to St. Joseph’s and 13th-ranked College of Wooster and split with Plymouth State University.
“We know that the trip is long and tiresome, so the approach coming in was to win game one against NYU and then take it one game at a time,” Orgielewicz said. “And we were definitely excited to get out of the cold and enjoy playing baseball in warm weather.”
Despite there being many memorable moments throughout the Classic, the Blue Jays’ first game against St. Joseph’s, their sweep against Colby and both games against Plymouth State particularly displayed how the team has grown from the start of the season.
Hopkins earned an 11-2 victory against the St. Joseph’s Golden Eagles, who previously defeated Hopkins during last season’s NCAA Regionals to end the Jays’ season.
Sophomore pitcher Preston Betz pitched the first six innings of the game, striking out eight Golden Eagle hitters. Offensively, Orgielewicz went four for five in hits, including his first home run of the season.
Freshman infielder Dillon Bowman also recorded a home run, a career first. With both Orgielewicz’s and Bowman’s home runs, this game marked the Blue Jays’ first multi-home run game of the season.
Two days later, the Jays faced the Colby Mules in two consecutive seven-inning games. During their first game of the day, Hopkins quickly generated momentum after a few walks and a Colby error.
With bases loaded, freshman outfielder Chris Festa recorded his first of four hits in the game, doubling to right field and sending all three Blue Jays home.
With the Jays gaining a five-run lead in the first four innings, Festa, once again, helped Hopkins expand their lead with a career-first home run. The Blue Jays recorded a 13-3 victory over the Mules, with junior pitcher Nick Bodner and senior pitcher Cameron Mineo leading the team to victory.
During their second game of the day, the Blue Jays came back from a 4-3 deficit at the top of the seventh inning to win 7-4. Despite the score being closer than that of their first game against the Mules, the Jays still demonstrated skill and effort.
Hopkins began to gain momentum when senior shortstop Conor Reynolds came in as a pinch hitter and earned a walk. After a pair of sacrifice flies, the Blue Jays finished the game on a 4-0 run.
Three days after sweeping Colby, the Jays went on to compete against the Plymouth State Panthers. With a tight score throughout all nine innings, the Panthers earned a walk-off walk in the final inning to win 4-3.
Although the Jays’ hitters were unable to pull away from the Panthers, junior pitcher Alex Ross kept the Panthers’ scoring slow, striking out a career-high of 13 hitters and only giving up eight hits in the 7.1 innings he pitched.
With the score tied at 3-3 at the bottom of the ninth, sophomore pitcher Josh Hejka faced the top of the Panthers’ lineup. With a single and two intentional walks, the bases were quickly loaded. The next hitter Hejka faced earned himself a full count. Hejka threw a ball to advance all players and hand the game-winning run to the Panthers.
Despite the loss, the Blue Jays came back two days later to defeat the Panthers 5-4. Freshman utility player Mike Eberle recorded two crucial doubles, one being the game-winning RBI.
Five different pitchers saw the mound, Bodner, sophomore Harrison Folk, sophomore John Donohue, Hejka and junior Nick Burns. With effective pitching match-ups, Hopkins only allowed the Panthers to score four runs to the Jays’ five.
“Winning the last game against Plymouth was a much needed win for us after we had lost the previous two games, including a loss to them two days earlier on a walk-off,” Orgielewicz said.
Tallying eight victories in Fort Myers, the team hopes to extend their preseason success into Centennial Conference play.
“Our Conference is always strong, and teams always play us tough because we are the team to beat every year. We are looking to start out strong against Swarthmore and McDaniel and show everyone why we are always on top when the year ends,” Orgielewicz said. “I believe we are going to have a great season with our dominant pitching staff and experienced hitters.”
The Jays head into Centennial Conference play this weekend. They will return to Stromberg Stadium to host the Swarthmore Garnet on Saturday, April 1.
