The Muhlenberg baseball team celebrated Senior Day in style, sweeping nationally ranked Johns Hopkins in a pair of one-run games.

Junior Robbie Hopes had his second game-winning hit in four days in the opener, singling in the tying and go-ahead runs in the bottom of the eighth for a 5-4 win in the opener. Sophomore Sam Kasten pitched a four-hit gem in the nightcap, going all nine innings as the Mules prevailed, 2-1.

Johns Hopkins (26-11-2, 13-4-1) came into the day ranked 25th and 27th in the two Division III baseball polls and with a 15-game unbeaten streak. The sweep was the first for the Mules (18-20, 9-9) against the Blue Jays since 1999 and gave them three wins against nationally ranked opponents this season.

Muhlenberg needed the sweep on the final day of the Centennial Conference regular season to have a chance at making the CC playoffs. The Mules also needed McDaniel and Washington to be swept, and neither was. So the team that was picked to finish ninth in the preseason poll came in sixth, with a 6-4 record against the teams that finished higher in the standings, including sweeps of the first- and second-place teams.

The Mules trailed 3-0 before coming to bat in the first game, but sophomore Timmy Pilrun settled down after a rough first inning to keep the game close. He retired 13 batters in one stretch and allowed just three hits in his last six innings of work. Pilrun struck out a career-high 10 batters to run his season total to 64, the fifth-highest in team history.

Muhlenberg got a run back in the third on a two-out RBI single by senior Andrew Rava and answered a Hopkins run in the top of the seventh on another two-out RBI hit, this one by Hopes in the bottom of the seventh.

Freshman Stephen Koester and sophomore Eric Reitmeyer led off the eighth with back-to-back singles, but the next two batters made out. With two outs and the tying run 90 feet away, Hopkins elected to intentionally walk junior John Icaza, repeating the move made by Dickinson on Wednesday.

As it did on Wednesday, the strategy backfired. Rava, whose walkup music ("No Role Modelz" by J. Cole) starts with "Fool me one time shame on you/Fool me twice, can't put the blame on you," walked on four pitches to force in a run that made the score 4-3. Hopes fell into an 0-2 hole, checked his swing just in time on the next pitch, then lined a single over the head of the shortstop to put the Mules ahead by a run.

Junior Christopher Bunero pitched a scoreless ninth for his third save of the season. The Blue Jays put runners on first and second with one out, but two nice plays at third base by freshman Jon Capra ended the game.

Freshman RJ Hennessey worked a 1-2-3 eighth to earn his first career win.

The second game belonged to Kasten, who needed only 73 pitches to set down a potent Hopkins lineup that averaged more than seven runs in its first 17 CC games. The righty struck out only three - all in a row in the second inning - but allowed just two baserunners over the first six innings. After giving up a run on three hits in the seventh, he pitched a 1-2-3 eighth and finished off the masterpiece by getting a lineout to second with the potential tying run in scoring position.

The Mules scored both of their runs in the third inning. With one out, freshman Chris Grillo reached on a hot smash to third and advanced to second on a wild throw. One out later, Icaza singled him in. 

With Rava at bat, Icaza took off for second on a stolen base attempt. He arrived safely, and when the ball fell out of the shortstop's glove into an area of the infield where no Blue Jay fielders were nearby, Icaza alertly took off for third, reaching with a headfirst dive. Rava singled up the middle to bring in the second run of the inning.

Grillo and Icaza each had three hits in the nightcap. 

Prior to the twinbill, the Mules honored their six seniors - Connor Annese, Sean Buecker, Tim Hofmann, Alex Morisano, Andrew Oakes and Rava (pictured left to right above).