Softball Swept by Villanova

The Georgetown softball team’s difficult season continued on Thursday and Friday with three straight home losses to Villanova. The Hoyas (11-31, 4-9 Big East) were handily defeated in the first and third games of the series, and lost an extra innings heartbreaker in game two. Junior first baseman Noelle Holiday and catcher Mae Forshey led the way for the Hoyas offensively, with five combined hits and two home runs over the two-day series. Georgetown’s pitchers struggled against the Wildcats (24-20, 7-5 Big East), giving up 27 total runs over the course of the three games.

Junior pitcher Anna Brooks Pacha started the series on the mound for the Hoyas, but could not get out of the first inning. After striking out the first batter she faced, Pacha gave up back-to-back walks and then back-to-back singles, which scored  two runners. In the bottom half of the inning, the Hoyas got back in it after sophomore right fielder Macy Cartwright led off with a bunt to get on base, stole second and third, and scored on a fly out to left field. In the second inning, sophomore pitcher London Diller took the mound and gave up a home run to Wildcats freshman center fielder Sydney Hayes. Neither team scored in the third, but in the fourth, Forshey responded with a solo shot of her own to bring the Hoyas back within one. After Diller kept Villanova scoreless in the fifth, she fell apart in the sixth, as the Wildcats batted around, scoring eight runs (seven earned) to put the game well out of reach. The Hoyas managed no runs in the final frame and lost, 10-2.

In Thursday’s second game, the Wildcats got their offense started early again, scoring five runs against Georgetown junior pitcher Katie Vannicola in the first two innings, forcing her out of the game. In the bottom of the fourth, Holiday got the Hoyas on the board with a solo blast over the left field wall. Georgetown kept its foot on the gas pedal into the fifth. After a leadoff groundout, freshman pitcher Cassie Henning, who had relieved Vannicola, reached on a walk, before senior center fielder Kelly Amen homered to bring Georgetown within two. Later that frame, Holiday drove in  two runs on a single up the middle, advancing Forshey to third base. Forshey would then score on a squeeze bunt by sophomore shortstop Savannah Jones to give Georgetown its first and only lead of the series. Unfortunately for the Blue & Gray, Henning could not hold the lead, as ‘Nova sophomore right fielder Paige Rauch hit an RBI double in the sixth to send it to extra innings. She followed that up with an RBI triple in the eighth to put the Wildcats back on top. Villanova scored twice more in the eighth, while junior pitcher Gabby Wenn kept the Hoyas scoreless to give the Wildcats the 9-6 win.

Georgetown head coach Pat Conlan sent Diller back out on the mound to start the final game of the series. In the first inning, she continued to struggle, giving up a two-run homer to Rauch who extended her hot run. The Hoyas failed to recover at the plate, and in the second inning, things  went from bad to worse for GU. After a flyout, Wildcats reached on a single, an error, then a walk to load the bases. Junior first baseman Caroline Jones came to the plate and smacked a grand slam down the left field line. Down 6-0, Conlan replaced Diller with Vannicola, but she could not get of the inning either. A single, followed by a double and a triple, scored two more runs to put the Wildcats up eight after just two frames. After that point, Henning relieved and kept Villanova scoreless for the remaining three innings, but the Hoyas could not find any offense against Rauch, who pitched five scoreless innings for the Wildcats. After a quiet third, fourth, and fifth, Georgetown had lost its third straight, 8-0.

The Hoyas return to the diamond on Wednesday for a midweek battle against George Mason (18-22, 6-9 Atlantic 10) in Fairfax, VA. For live stats, go to guhoyas.com. For continued coverage of all Georgetown spring sports, follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter.