March 20 marked the beginning of spring, a time when the nation’s consciousness turns back to its pastime. Luckily for Hoya fans, the Georgetown baseball team aren’t disappointing supporters.
The Hoyas have played quality ball in the past month, fighting to an overall record of 13-6, with conference play to begin this Friday. One highlight so far has been the excellent pitching displayed by senior Thomas Polus.
Head Coach Pete Wilk said of the men on the mound, “[Our] guys have pitched really well and that’s why we are where we are. We’re getting decent starts, Thomas Polus’s last two starts have been exceptional … and our bullpen has been our saving grace so far.”
Polus believes his preseason preparation made the difference this year. “We took the numbers, we took the mechanics and looked at different things coming in. We focused and made plans about those things that we wanted to accomplish. For me in particular I needed to throw more strikes early in the count and get my pitches down.”
Despite personal improvements, Hoya baseball hasn’t changed its style one bit. The team is sticking to the same core philosophy as previous seasons, with the defensive side focused on limiting free bases due to walks and errors, and the batting side placing advancing runners as a top priority. “That hasn’t changed, it’s just we’re getting it done better than we have in the past,” said Wilk.
The Hoyas are gearing up for their first foray into conference play when they host the UConn Huskies for a three-game series at Shirley Povich Field in Bethesda, Md. this Friday at 3 p.m., Saturday at 1 p.m., and Sunday at 1 p.m.
But even if they stick to their signature style, Wilk acknowledges some changes have to be made going into conference play. “We’re going to have to step it up offensively,” he said. “In the 18 games we’ve played already, we’ve probably only faced three or four guys who are Big East caliber pitchers… And I think the older guys know that we’re about to see some big time arms.”
Although the Hoyas’ offense has been performing well, much of that production is coming from the same core players. The team has been carried by big hits from senior outfielder Justin Leeson and junior outfielder Christian Venditti. With the level of competition imminently on the rise, working that offensive success deeper into the lineup will be a must for Georgetown to continue its winning ways in Big East play.
