Something had to give on this weekend in Queens, New York as the Georgetown Hoyas men’s baseball team (14-23, 2-4 Big East) squared off against the St. John’s Red Storm (26-10, 9-0 Big East) for a three-game series this weekend. The two teams were each riding the longest win streaks in the Big East heading into the matchups, with the Hoyas seven-game run bested only by St. John’s nine in a row, with the Red Storm stretching their streak to twelve after the three-game sweep of the Hoyas.
It was the hosts who extended their streak to double figures in game one, their 6-3 win coming in large part due to timely hitting, while the Hoyas stranded ten runners on base themselves.
Handed the ball for Georgetown, junior Jack Cushing got out of the first inning on senior second baseman Jake Bernstein’s 4-3 double play putout and assist, but yielded two runs in the bottom of the second inning as SJU cobbled together three singles, a walk, and a sacrifice fly. Bernstein collected his second hit of the game in the top of the third, but he and senior outfielder Austin Shirley were stranded as the Hoyas struck out twice to end the frame. After another double play ended the home half of the third, the Hoyas stranded two more in the top of the fourth, unable to provide any type of run support for Cushing despite compiling four hits and two walks on Red Storm starter Sean Mooney over five innings.
A walk and a double in the bottom of the fourth gave St. John’s another run. Then, a fielding error and a sacrifice fly saw the Red Storm lead pushed to four after five innings. The Hoyas started the top of the sixth brightly on an infield single by senior first baseman Alex Bernauer and a walk from sophomore designated hitter Freddy Achacar III, and they were finally able to cash in as junior third baseman Ryan Weisenberg plated both runners with a double into the right center field gap. A pair of two-out singles in the bottom of the sixth added another run for St. John’s, however, and ended Cushing’s day. A Johnnies homer in the bottom of the seventh was matched by a Hoyas double steal that scored a run in the top of the eighth. St. John’s junior Turner French earned the save in the ninth, only yielding a walk.
On Saturday afternoon, the Red Storm picked up where they left off the night before in what would become a 9-1 win. Senior pitcher Kevin Magee (4-3, 1.75 ERA) retired the first six Hoyas he faced before the home team drove in three runs in the bottom of the second, with an infield single proving costly for Georgetown. Sophomore pitcher Brett Killam (4-2, 2.52 ERA) settled well from there, throwing four more scoreless innings while only allowing three hits after the three-run second. The Hoyas recorded hits with less than two outs in each of those four innings, but could not provide any run support for Killam.
After sophomore Gavin Hollowell came on for Magee to throw a 1-2-3 top of the seventh, the Red Storm exploded for four runs in the bottom half of the frame. Senior pitcher Matt Randolph retired two of the first three batters he saw, but an RBI triple from senior catcher Robert Boselli III was followed by back-to-back homers from senior right fielder Anthony Brocato and graduate senior third baseman Luke Stampl. Randolph was replaced by freshman righty Beau Dana as the St. John’s advantage stood at seven. The Red Storm would go on to score two more off Dana in the 8th on junior second baseman Josh Shaw’s double. Freshman Kai Nelson and senior Sammy Stephens each reached base as pinch-hitters in the top of the ninth, and Nelson was driven in by Weisenberg’s line drive single off the pitcher, before a double play ended the game.
In the final game of the series on Sunday, sophomore righty Jeremiah Burke pitched five innings in his first career start, only allowing one run in a 9-1 St. John’s win. In the bottom of the second, the middle of the Red Storm order came through again, Boselli being driven in on Stampl’s sacrifice fly after being advanced by Brocato’s ground-rule double. The Hoyas offense, however, was again short for answers, this time against junior Michael LoPresti. The Hoyas’ lone run came on freshman catcher Ryan P. Davis’ first career long ball against LoPresti in the fifth, knotting the score at one. Burke exited the game after facing one batter in the sixth, whom sophomore Nick Morreale successfully stranded, while LoPresti was replaced by French after hitting Weisenberg to start the top of the seventh.
Both relievers were dominant over the next few frames, Morreale going three innings to French’s two and two-thirds. Both pitchers allowed no runs, only yielding one hit apiece. In the top of the tenth, the Hoyas were set aside 1-2-3 by sophomore Gavin Hollowell. (Xanax) In the bottom half of the inning, senior righty Jimmy Swad walked sophomore left fielder Josh Greene before Greene advanced to third on graduate senior third baseman John Valente’s double. Senior center fielder Jamie Galavin then laid down a successful suicide squeeze to score Greene as the Hoyas fell, 9-1.
The Blue and Gray will look to rebound at home on Tuesday at 7 P.M. against the George Washington Colonials, before heading to Omaha, Nebraska for a three-game set with Creighton over the weekend. Follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter for more baseball and spring sports coverage.
