On Tuesday, the Georgetown Hoyas baseball team (6-15, Big East) fell to George Mason (10-8, Atlantic 10), 7-4. The game was tight until the Georgetown bullpen collapsed late, and the subsequent offensive comeback effort fell short. Senior right-hander Jack Cushing turned in a quality start, firing six innings on two earned runs, while sophomore catcher Ryan P. Davis and sophomore outfielder Kai Nelson each hit solo shots.
Patriots freshman left-hander Nate Young got off to a strong start, striking out the side in the top of the first. In the bottom half, the George Mason offense followed suit, taking advantage of some sloppy play by the Hoyas. Sophomore center fielder Cam Reckling struck out to lead off, but reached first base on a passed ball by freshman catcher Tony Barreca. Four pitches later, junior third baseman Logan Driscoll launched a two-run homer to center, his fifth on the campaign. Cushing was able to escape the inning with no further damage. In the third, however, Reckling led off again, this time doubling to right center. After advancing to third, he scored on a sacrifice fly by senior infielder Ryan Tassone, giving George Mason a 3-0 lead.
In the top of the fourth, the Hoyas put together their first rally of the day, as sophomore third baseman Eddie McCabe drew a leadoff walk and was followed by consecutive singles from senior second baseman Ryan Weisenberg and sophomore catcher Alex Gamache to load the bases with one out. Junior first baseman Will Salomon got the Hoyas on the board with a sacrifice fly to center, chasing McCabe home and chasing Young from the game. Sophomore right-hander Michael Yuille entered the game and got the Patriots out of the jam.
In the fifth, the Hoyas scratched back another run. Graduate student left fielder Kyle Ruedisili tripled to left-center and scored on a sacrifice fly by Barreca. Georgetown then got runners on first and second with one out, but were unable to capitalize.
The score remained 3-2 until the bottom of the seventh. Freshman left-hander Angelo Tonas struggled, surrendering consecutive singles to lead off the inning and then plunked a batter to load the bases with no outs. Tonas did well to induce a double play on the next batter, but the runner on third scored as Mason took a 5-2 lead. After the Georgetown bats were quiet in the top of the eighth, fellow freshman left-hander Jack Weeks relieved Tonas, but fared no better. Four base hits in the inning allowed two more Patriots to cross home, giving the hosts a commanding 7-2 lead entering the ninth.
Nelson and Davis hit back-to-back round-trippers to lead off the frame, but the comeback effort was soon laid to rest. Freshman right-hander Stuart Barrett came into the game to get the final out, earning his first collegiate save.
Young picked up the win in his first start of the year, while Cushing was tagged with the loss. Cushing finished with eight strikeouts and only walked one, though he did throw two wild pitches and hit two batters. After today, his 3.24 ERA (earned run average) and 1.04 WHIP (walks + hits per innings pitched) lead the pitching staff.
Georgetown looks to rebound on Friday when they open a three-game weekend series against Hartford (2-10, 2-1 America East). Hartford will play on Wednesday at home against Bryant (8-7, Northeast). All three games this weekend will be played at Shirley Povich Field, the Hoyas’ home field in Bethesda, MD, where the Blue and Gray are 3-2 this season. First pitch on Friday is set for 3:00 p.m. ET. For continuing coverage of Georgetown sports, follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter.
