The Georgetown baseball team started off Big East play last weekend, winning one of three games against Notre Dame. A lack of timely hitting cost the Hoyas in the series in which each game was decided by one run.
Justin Leeson is a steady presence at the plate, hitting .306 with 18 RBIs. (Photo Courtesy Georgetown Sports Information)
On the other end, the pitching staff had a great performance, giving up only seven runs over the three games. Senior pitcher Alex Meyer threw eight innings and only surrendered two runs in the first game. He got little run support, however, leaving the mound with the score tied 2-2.
“It was the best outing of the year,” head coach Pete Wilk said. “He was throwing three pitchers for strikes and we played good [defense] behind him.“
But relief pitchers Mike Seander and Neal Dennison ultimately gave up the game, combining for four walks, including the winning run.
In the second game of the weekend the Hoyas’ pitching staff of Charles Steinman, Tommy Isaacs, Billy Cosmopulos, and Pablo Vinent pitched a combined eight innings while giving up only one run. Still, Wilk wasn’t satisfied with their pitching, as they walked ten batters.
“I wouldn’t say we’re performing unbelievably well,” Wilk said.
The pitchers weren’t the only ones to fault though, with the offense leaving seven runners stranded on base in the 1-0 loss.
Georgetown was able to salvage the weekend by pulling off a 4-3 victory in late innings of the final game of the series. The Hoyas got out to an early lead when early season MVP Rand Ravnaas hit a sacrifice fly. Notre Dame took the lead in the sixth inning, but the Hoyas responded in the seventh, scoring three runs to regain the lead. Vinent closed the game out and picked up the win, only giving up one run in 3.2 innings of relief.
While Georgetown pitched well all weekend, Notre Dame kept the Hoya bats as cold as the weather in South Bend. The team managed only 22 hits in the three games, down from an average of 10 hits per game.
“They were very good, their three pitchers [Brian Dupra, Todd Miller, and Cole Johnson] were very good, but the weather had an effect on both teams’ offense so it wasn’t a day you wanted to hit,” Wilk said.
On Wednesday, the Hoyas took on Coppin State, which was anything but a pitchers’ duel. The Hoyas’ Tommy Isaacs pitched a complete game and struck out 13 batters, but gave up seven runs. However, the Hoyas jumped on Coppin State’s pitchers early, scoring five runs in the opening inning, and went on to win 19–7. Sophomore shortstop Mike Garza got four hits and six RBIs in the game and senior first baseman Dan Capeless had three RBIs of his own.
The Hoyas continue Big East play this weekend, taking on Cincinnati at home. They hope the combination of getting back on track against Coppin State and the warm weather will be beneficial to the team.
“When the weather is good our offense can play against anyone, but it was just really cold last weekend and it hurt us,” Wilk said.
