After a pulling off an exciting victory on Friday over Richmond (2-8, Atlantic 10), Georgetown (3-7, Big East) faced more than they could handle on Saturday afternoon, falling 20-6 to Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) (7-3, Atlantic-10). The story of the game was the explosion of the bats by VCU which Georgetown’s pitching could not contain. On the other side of the ball, Georgetown’s offense appeared stifled by VCU’s staff until the fifth when they broke out for four runs.
VCU quickly got on the board in the top of the first with four runs. To lead off the inning, Georgetown starting pitcher sophomore southpaw Angelo Tonas surrendered three straight doubles. While these were the only hits VCU would get in the inning, a walk and two errors led to four runs scoring. The next inning, VCU added to their lead, scoring three runs on four hits, including a two RBI triple by freshman third baseman Tyler Locklear. In the bottom of the third, an error allowed junior right fielder Jack Schroeder to come around from second to score, giving VCU an 8-0 lead. The onslaught continued in the top of the fourth, with a leadoff home run by senior left fielder Brandon Henson and a set of singles to score two more runs.
In the top of the fifth, Georgetown’s offense broke through with four runs. Sophomore catcher Tony Barreca walked to lead off the inning, moved around to third on a double by junior shortstop Yareb Martinez and scored on ground out to the first baseman by freshman Patrick DeSalvo who pinch hit for sophomore second baseman Nolan Matsko. After Martinez ran home on a wild pitch, junior Alex Gamache, hitting for senior John Simourian, singled to the left side. Pinch hitter sophomore Andrew Marra was then hit by a pitch to put runners at first and second with one out. The slew of substitutions continued as freshman Will Gersky hit for first baseman Freddy Achecar III and lined a double in the left center gap, scoring Gamache. Sophomore Alex Rosen pinch hit for third baseman Eddie McCabe and scored Marra with a single to the left side, making the score 10-4. Two consecutive strikeouts ended an inning in which Georgetown pinch hit for six of the nine starting players in the lineup.
These offensive substitutions meant a new defense for the Hoyas, as well as the call to the bullpen for freshman left handed reliever Patrick Mahala. Two hit batters and two walks hurt Mahala, who allowed two runs on no hits in the inning. Four runs in the next frame meant VCU scored for the sixth consecutive inning, bringing the score to 16-4 with the help of two more errors by the Hoyas’ defense.
On an RBI single by Martinez and a bases loaded walk, Georgetown scored two more in the top of the eight. However, this did not come close to catching the Rams’ offense, which went on to score four more runs in the bottom of the eight to make the score 20-6.
In a tough day for the Hoyas, the pitching staff struggled to stop VCU’s lineup, which scored 20 runs on 18 hits. The Hoyas were also not backed up by their defense, which surrendered eight errors over the course of the game. It was only with a slew of pinch hitters that Georgetown was able to string together some hits and bring runs around to score. Moving forward, the Hoyas can hope that their starting lineup will be able to return to the clutch form that showed itself in Friday’s game against Richmond. Georgetown faces William and Mary (3-7, Colonial) on the road Sunday afternoon to round out their three game weekend. For continuing coverage of all Georgetown sports, follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter.
