After splitting a doubleheader with the University of Pennsylvania last weekend, Georgetown is set to travel to Winter Park, Florida, to face the Quakers once again, with one game on Friday and one on Saturday. The Hoyas are coming off an offensive surge, having scored 21 runs in their last two games.
“[We got] a monster day from Sean Lamont, nice to get him going,” coach Pete Wilk said. “Tommy Lee had another good day, and every time I look up he’s on base.”
Lamont, a sophomore, led the team in home runs last year and slugged three home runs in the first game to give the Hoyas a victory. The pitchers also did their part, as junior Alex Meyer tossed six shutout innings and senior Jimmy Saris threw six innings as well, giving up only one run while striking out six. The only problem for Georgetown was that they left too many men on base (19 over two games). If the Hoyas continue to struggle to get hits with runners on base, they will have a long and difficult season ahead of them. Wilk feels the Hoyas match up well against Penn.
“Their pitching isn’t as deep as ours, and I think our hitters will relax and get a big hit or two. Once that happens, it gets contagious.” he said.
It is early in the season, and most teams are still trying to get into a groove. Georgetown has the bats and arms to take care of Penn, but it’s important for the Hoyas to do the little things. They need to get hits at the right time, play solid defense, and not give up outs on the base paths.
Clean-up slugger Tom Grandieri, who smashed two home runs in the doubleheader, leads Penn. Leadoff hitter Adrian Thomas may also pose a threat to the Hoyas. If Georgetown can find a way to limit the damage of these two talents, they should be able to secure some wins.
Ultimately, however, this weekend will come down to how hungry the Hoyas are. Talent and skill can only take them so far.
Georgetown kicks off Rollins College Baseball Week on Friday at 11 a.m.
