BALTIMORE, Md. (March 5, 2024) – Senior second baseman Jimmy Stevens ripped a two-out, bases-clearing double to right center field in the bottom of the eighth inning here Tuesday, breaking open a tie game and the Johns Hopkins University baseball team hung on to post a hard-fought win over Rutgers University-Camden, 4-3.
 
The loss snapped the Scarlet Raptors' four-game winning streak, dropping Rutgers-Camden to 5-2. Johns Hopkins, ranked eighth nationally in the D3baseball.com Top 25 poll released Tuesday, improved to 4-2.
 
In a terrific pitching duel between Raptor junior southpaw Daniel Robeson and Blue Jays graduate student righty Kieren Collins, the two teams were locked at 1-1 into the bottom of the eighth inning. Robeson worked 6.2 innings, allowing six hits, one earned run and one walk, while striking out seven. Collins worked seven innings of six-hit ball, allowing one earned run and fanning seven. He didn't issue a walk.
 
Rutgers-Camden scored the first run of the game in the third inning, set up by a one-out single from senior right fielder Giacomo Antonicello. He scored on a two-out double by senior center fielder Auggie Uzdanovics.
 
Johns Hopkins tied the game in the bottom of the sixth inning on a leadoff home run by graduate student left fielder Matthew Cooper.
 
The Blue Jays threatened to take the lead in the bottom of the seventh inning after a two-out single, but senior Joey Rappaport relieved Robeson and worked out of the inning with a fielder's choice.
 
In the eighth inning, the Blue Jays loaded the bases with one out on a pair of walks and a hit batsman. Senior Jacob Brennan relieved Rappaport and got the second out on a foul to third before Stevens doubled home three runs.
 
The Scarlet Raptors stormed back in the top of the ninth inning, nearly tying the game before junior Matt Savedoff wriggled out of a huge jam to secure his win with a strikeout. Senior pinch-hitter Jack Murphy was hit by a pitch to open the frame. The Raptors loaded the bases with back-to-back walks to senior third baseman Ryan Nutley and junior pinch-hitter Andrew Brown. Freshman Matt McAleer ran for Brown. After Savedoff collected a strikeout, senior second baseman Danny Vazquez plated Murphy with a fielder's choice. Antonicello followed with an RBI single to make it a 4-3 game before Savedoff nailed down the win with a strikeout.
 
Stevens went 2-for-4 with two doubles and three RBIs in the seven-hit Johns Hopkins attack. Rutgers-Camden also collected seven hits, with Antonicello going 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI, while Vazquez went 2-for-4 with one RBI.
 
Rutgers-Camden will entertain York College of Pennsylvania in a 4 p.m. non-conference game Thursday.