On Wednesday, the Georgetown Hoyas baseball team (8-21, Big East) earned a much needed 4-1 home victory over George Mason (11-16, 0-6 Atlantic 10), avenging their 7-4 defeat to the Patriots on March 19. Freshman right-hander Carter Bosch was excellent in the win, with 5.1 innings of scoreless relief work, while senior second baseman Ryan Weisenberg drove home two runs. For the visitors, freshman right-hander Patrick Halligan tossed six solid innings, allowing three earned runs.
Freshman right-hander Anthony Redfern got the start for the Hoyas in just his third appearance of the season. The Phillips Andover graduate pitched around a double and a walk to put up a scoreless top of the first. In the bottom half, the Hoyas claimed a lead that they would not surrender for the rest of the game. Graduate student left fielder Kyle Ruedisili led off with a double down the right-field line, his team leading 10th of the year. Sophomore third baseman Eddie McCabe followed suit, shooting a double down the same foul line to bring home Ruedisili. After junior first baseman Freddie Achecar III drew a walk and freshman outfielder Michael Willis singled to load the bases, the table was set for Weisenberg. Weisenberg delivered, punching a single through the left side to score McCabe and Achecar III. Halligan was able to escape the inning, but not before the Hoyas had grabbed a 3-0 advantage.
In the top of the second, the Patriots began to put together a rally of their own. Sophomore outfielder Scott Morgan led off with a double to right-center and advanced to third on a wild pitch by Redfern. After sophomore second baseman Daniel Brooks drew a four-pitch walk, Morgan scored on a sacrifice fly to make it 3-1. Unlike Halligan, however, Redfern was able to limit the damage and retired the next two batters.
Meanwhile, Halligan settled in after a rocky first inning. He did not allow another base hit until the fifth inning. As for Redfern, the second inning would be his last. Bosch entered in the top of the third, making his seventh relief appearance of the year, and proceeded to shut down the Patriot’s offense. Bosch stayed on the bump until one out in the eighth inning, and allowed just two hits while fanning six Patriots.
The Hoyas picked up their fourth run in the bottom of the fifth. With two men out, Achecar III doubled to bring up Willis, who hit a grounder to third. However, senior third baseman George Popatak II’s throw was off the mark, and Achecar III was able to score.
In the top of the eighth, Bosch was able to get the lead off man on a groundout, but issued a walk and then surrendered a double, putting men on second and third. Freshman left-hander Angelo Tonas relieved Bosch, and extinguished the threat. The southpaw induced a shallow flyout to center and then struck out Brooks to end the frame.
Sophomore left-hander Jacob Grzebinski came on in the top of the ninth and retired the side in order, sealing a Georgetown victory. Grzebinski earned his third save on the year, while Bosch picked up the win to improve to 2-3.
The Hoyas will begin Big East play this weekend, and will need to replicate Wednesday’s performance in order to get off to a strong start. They travel to Cincinnati, OH to take on the Xavier Musketeers (9-19, Big East) for a three-game set at Hayden Field. The Musketeers are on a five-game skid, most recently losing 5-3 on Wednesday to Eastern Kentucky (17-13, 5-4 Ohio Valley). First pitch on Friday is set for 3:00 p.m. ET. For continuing coverage of all Georgetown sports, follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter.
