The Georgetown men’s baseball team (2-12, Big East) traveled to Port Charlotte, Florida last week for the Snowbird Baseball Classic. The trip featured games against Mount St. Mary’s (3-7, Northeast), Dartmouth (2-4, Ivy League), Northeastern (9-5, Colonial), Western Michigan (8-6, MAC), and St. Joseph’s (4-7, Atlantic-10). Overall, the Hoyas finished 2-5 on the trip.
On Saturday, March 3, the Hoyas were downed in a close one to Mount St. Mary’s, 4-3. Sophomore right-hander Nick Morreale was the starting pitcher for Georgetown, and pitched well despite some bad luck. Morreale lasted four innings and surrendered four runs, though only two were earned. He gave up just two hits and racked up eight punchouts, but had some control problems. Morreale issued four walks, threw a wild pitch, and hit a batter. Sophomore left-hander Brent Killam entered in the fifth and completed four scoreless innings of brilliant relief. Killam also recorded six strikeouts.
The offense did a solid job getting on base, collecting seven base hits and walks each, but were unable to cash in on enough opportunities. Senior catcher Sammy Stevens notched two hits, including a RBI single in the first, and a walk. Redshirt junior Michael Collins started the game on the mound for Mount St. Mary’s, and turned in a solid 5.2 innings of two-run ball. The Mount only recorded three hits, but Morreale’s command issues coupled with four costly Hoya errors was enough for Mount St. Mary’s to edge Georgetown 4-3.
Georgetown took on Dartmouth the next day, but saw no new results. The Big Green prevailed 4-1. Senior right-hander Kevin Superko had a strong outing, going five innings and giving up just two runs (one earned) on three hits. Superko threw just 57 pitches. Freshman right-hander Beau Dana relieved Superko, and after facing five batters had let in two runs and committed a balk. Right-handers senior Jimmy Swad and graduate student Connor Cuse combined for 3.1 scoreless innings to finish off the game, but unfortunately their relief efforts were all for naught.
The Hoya bats were silenced all game by Big Green senior right-hander Clay Chatham. Chatham completed eight spectacular innings of one-run ball, striking out six in the process. Sophomore right-hander Austen Michel shut the door on Georgetown in the ninth, picking up his first save of the season. Freshman shortstop Eddie McCabe lead the Hoya offense with three hits. Again, Georgetown outhit their opponents 8-5, but couldn’t get the hits to bring baserunners home. They also failed to draw a single walk, implying a lack of plate discipline against Chatham.
Tuesday, March 6, the Blue & Gray fought hard but in the end fell to the Northeastern Huskies 9-5. Freshman right hander Owen Lamon lasted just 3.1 innings and was hit hard for six runs on six hits. Lamon also walked four, hit two, and threw a wild pitch en route to his second loss of the year. Senior right hander Matt Randolph relieved Lamon and threw a clean 1.2 scoreless innings, but Killam and Cuse combined for three innings of three run ball afterward.
The offense woke up a bit on Tuesday, and knocked Husky freshman right-hander Sam Jacobsak out of the game after three innings of work. Senior left fielder Austin Shirley crushed a solo homer, the first of his career, to right field in the first, but Georgetown still faced a 5-1 deficit in the top of the fourth. Georgetown put together a four run rally, highlighted by McCabe’s two-run double, to tie the game at 5-5. Lamon and the bullpen, however, were unable to hold the Huskies down, and the game soon slipped out of the Hoyas’ reach. Freshman right-hander Kyle Angel set the game to bed with two scoreless innings to close it out for Northeastern and pick up his first save of the season.
Georgetown then took on Western Michigan on Wednesday for the first of a two-game set. Fortunately, the Hoyas came out on top 9-5 to pick up their first victory on the 2018 campaign. Junior right-hander Jack Cushing started the game and improved his record to 1-2. Cushing threw a solid 5.1 innings and held the Broncos to three runs (two earned). Randolph pitched an inning in relief, and Swad pitched the last 2.2 innings of the game, picking up his first save on the year. Junior left fielder Nate Grys notched three hits, including a double and a triple, but it wasn’t enough for the Bronco offense.
The Hoyas set season highs for both runs and hits, recording nine and 15, respectively. Junior third baseman Ryan Weisenberg was 4 for 4 at the plate with two RBI singles. McCabe and senior catcher Richie O’Reilly each had three hits and one RBI. Sophomore center fielder Ryan M. Davis also had an RBI triple. In an effort to save their arms, Western Michigan threw seven different pitchers at the Hoya bats, but none were able to effectively tame the explosive offense.
After a day off, the Hoyas and Broncos clashed again. While the Georgetown bats remained hot, the Bronco bats were even better, as Western Michigan emerged victorious by a score of 12-7. Morreale started this game, but didn’t see any improved results. He lasted five innings and allowed four runs, and the lack of command reared its head yet again. Morreale issued five walks, three wild pitches, and one HBP. Beau relieved Morreale, but did not fare any better than fellow freshman righty, getting tagged for four runs in 1.2 innings. Randolph relieved Beau and recorded a single out, but then Cuse came in and surrendered four runs over two innings. Junior third baseman Jimmy Roche had a huge day at the plate for the Broncos, going 4 for 5 with an RBI.
At the plate, O’Reilly had a productive game for Georgetown. The catcher notched three RBIs to the tune of two hits, including a double, and a walk. McCabe, sophomore first baseman Freddy Achecar III, and senior second baseman Jake Bernstein each had two hits. The Hoyas were up 6-4 as late as the seventh inning, but the bullpen’s implosion paved the way for a Bronco victory.
On Saturday, March 10, the Hoyas played the St. Joseph’s Hawks in the first of a two-game set. Unlike with Western Michigan, Georgetown dropped the first game, losing 4-3. Freshman left hander Jacob Grzebinski had a strong start for the Hoyas, letting up just two runs over five innings of work. Lamon and Swad combined for four innings of two-run ball, but Swad took the loss after surrendering the go-ahead run in the eighth.
Ryan M. Davis went 3-5 on the day, Achecar went 2-5, and McCabe added two RBIs on the day. Sophomore right-hander Jordan DiValerio gave up 3 runs over 2.1 innings for the Hawks, but the relief corps were lights-out for the remainder of the contest. Most notably, freshman right-hander Brian Edgington threw 3.1 scoreless innings.
For the last game of the trip, the Hoyas topped the Hawks 4-1. Killam took the mound and enjoyed a stellar performance, completing six innings of one-run ball. Cushing threw two scoreless innings, and Swad pitched a scoreless ninth to pick up his second save of the trip. Throughout the entire game, the Hawk bats mustered just five hits against the Hoya arms.
Senior right-hander Justin Aungst started the game for the Hawks, and was outstanding. Aungst pitched seven innings and gave up just two-runs (one earned). However, the Hoyas grabbed two unearned insurance runs off of freshman relievers Jackson Fiala and Jose Martinez. McCabe and senior outfielder Michael DeRenzi each had two base knocks.
The Hoyas take the field again on Wednesday against Coppin State (1-9-1, MEAC). First pitch is set for 3 p.m. ET at Shirley Povich Field. Follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter for more updates and breaking news.
