Hoya baseball was raring to take the field in a three-game set against Davidson this past weekend, even after the Hoyas’ season opener against rival George Washington was postponed due to inclement weather. But awakening from their off-season slumber proved harder than expected.
The team looked unready to step up to the plate, dropping the first three games of the season: 15-16, 14-20 and 3-6 respectively.
Despite hot hitting in the first two games, sloppy fielding and erratic pitching contributed to an offensive onslaught from Davidson. Junior right-handed pitcher Erik Chandler (5 IP, 2 ER, 0 BB) had a decent showing in the first game, but the Hoya defense looked rusty, allowing five unearned runs to cross the plate in the second inning. After that, the back-end of the Hoya bullpen gave up nine earned runs to guarantee a Davidson victory.
In the second game, despite leading 12-2 in the bottom of the third inning, the Hoyas’ pitching staff collapsed, giving up 18 runs in the next six innings.
The third game, however, played out very differently. Sophomore Jimmy Saris threw seven strong innings, allowing only 11 runners to reach base and four earned runs to cross the plate. Senior left-handed pitcher Mark Dutmers finally ended Georgetown’s bullpen woes, finishing the game throwing a scoreless 8th inning. Unfortunately, unlike the previous contests, Georgetown’s bats fell into a stupor as eight runners were stranded in scoring position.
Despite the opening weekend’s results, Georgetown showed some promise. In all three games, the Hoyas started with the lead, showing their ability to put up runs quickly and efficiently. Junior first-baseman Matt Harrigan, who was named to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll after hitting .600 with two home runs, led the Hoyas’ offense, which scored 32 runs over the long weekend.
In order for the team to disprove Big East projections of a last place finish, Georgetown will have to find a way to combine the offense from the first two games of the series with the pitching of the third. The back-end of the bullpen will also have to improve, and tighter defense should be enough to hold the early leads that are an initial trademark of this young season.
The first three losses didn’t shake Coach Pete Wilk’s confidence.
“We’re young, so there are a ton of positives to take away,” he said.
The Hoyas will look to build on Saris’s strong performance during this weekend’s home opener on Feb. 24 against St.. Joseph’s.
