BALTIMORE, Md. – The Haverford College baseball team (10-17, 4-6 CC) split a Saturday Centennial Conference doubleheader with No. 3 Johns Hopkins (26-5, 9-1 CC), dropping a tightly contested opener by a 6-4 final, before responding in emphatic fashion with a 10-5 victory in game two at Babb Field.
In that game two, Haverford delivered one of its most significant wins in recent program history, knocking off the No. 3 Blue Jays, 10-5, to hand Johns Hopkins its first Centennial Conference loss of the season. The victory snapped a 13-game winning streak for the Blue Jays, ended a 14-game skid in the series, and marked Haverford's first win in Baltimore over Johns Hopkins since the 2016 Centennial Conference Championship.
No. 3 Johns Hopkins 6, Haverford 4
Game one saw the Fords battle throughout but come up just short in a 6-4 decision, despite allowing just three hits. Haverford struck first in the opening inning as Tommy Belman delivered an RBI single to plate Mauro DeCillis for an early 1-0 lead. Johns Hopkins answered quickly, using a sacrifice fly and a two-run home run from Shane Keough to take control in the second inning.
The Blue Jays extended the margin to 4-1 in the fourth on a solo home run, but Haverford methodically worked its way back into the contest. Miles Prusek jump-started the rally with an RBI double in the fifth, and the Fords pulled even in the sixth as Cole Roman lined a two-run single to right field to tie the game at 4-4.
Johns Hopkins regained the lead in the bottom half of the sixth, capitalizing on a stolen base and a throwing error to push across an unearned run. A bases-loaded walk in the eighth added insurance, and the Fords were unable to complete the comeback despite continued pressure late. Prusek led the offense with a 3-for-4 effort and an RBI, while DeCillis reached base three times and scored twice. Roman drove in two runs for Haverford.
On the mound, Ethan Goldstein got the start, allowing four runs over four innings while striking out a pair. David Bertz added 2.0 scoreless innings in relief.
Haverford 10, No. 3 Johns Hopkins 5
The Fords broke through in emphatic fashion in game two, using a five-run eighth inning and a pair of home runs to take down the third-ranked Blue Jays and secure their most impactful win of the season.
Will Singer (1-0) delivered a breakthrough performance in his first career start, throwing 7.1 innings and allowing four runs while working through three hit batters and three walks. The sophomore, appearing in just his fifth career game, rose to the moment against one of the nation's top lineups, keeping Haverford in control deep into the contest.
Haverford seized the early momentum in the first inning. Mauro DeCillis drew a leadoff walk, moved to second on a Sam Dorian single, and eventually scored on a Miles Prusek RBI groundout for a 1-0 lead. The Fords pitching staff protected that edge until the fourth, when a solo home run from William Jaun evened the score at 1-1. The Fords answered immediately, and decisively. After Sammy Angel reached on an error and stole second in the fifth, Jackson Sgro turned on a pitch and launched a two-run home run to left, putting Haverford back in front for good at 3-1.
The momentum only built from there. In the sixth, Luke Treese singled and swiped second before Will Schroen drove a two-run home run to left-center, stretching the lead to 5-1 and putting the Fords firmly in command. Johns Hopkins showed life in the sixth, trimming the deficit to 5-2 behind an Alex Shane double and a Lukas Geer sacrifice fly, but Haverford delivered the decisive blow in the eighth.
Taking full advantage of a defensive miscue, the Fords erupted for five runs in a frame that broke the game open. Treese reached and stole second before Tommy Belman's single put runners on the corners. Kaden Van Kempen followed with a perfectly placed RBI bunt single to ignite the rally. After another bunt single from Schroen loaded the bases, Angel drove a two-run single through the middle. Dorian capped the surge with a towering two-run double to right, pushing the lead to 10-2 and silencing the home crowd.
The Blue Jays mounted a late push with three runs in the bottom of the eighth, highlighted by a two-run homer from Keiffer Ary, but the Fords never wavered. Kiran Sen and Drew Doyle combined to close it out under pressure in the ninth, stranding three runners. Doyle earned the save, his second of the season, entering with the bases loaded and slamming the door with a strikeout to end it.
Offensively, Dorian paced the attack with a 3-for-5 performance, including two doubles and two RBI. Schroen and Sgro each delivered two-run home runs, while Treese pressured the defense all afternoon with two stolen bases and two runs scored
Haverford finished with 10 hits and played clean, errorless defense, while Johns Hopkins committed two errors and left 12 runners on base.
The Fords will look to bring the momentum from Saturday into a busy week of action next week. Baseball is at Ursinus on Tuesday before a trip to No. 6 Rowan on Wednesday. Haverford then wraps up the home-and-home with Ursinus Friday at Kannerstein Field (3:30 p.m.) before heading to Washington College on Saturday, April 18 for a doubleheader.
