Coming off a devastatingly close three-game sweep at the hands of the UConn Huskies (25-18, 10-2 BIG EAST), Georgetown baseball rebounded in spectacular fashion to crush crosstown rivals George Washington (24-19, 7-8 A-10) on Tuesday and sweep the series at Creighton (30-11, 4-7 BIG EAST) to finish off the undefeated week. Here’s how the Hoyas got back on track:
Apr. 23 vs. George Washington (W, 13-5)
With the Hoyas entering the week losers of four straight—including three excruciating one-run losses to RPI No. 40 ranked UConn—they needed a hot start against GW and flush last weekend’s results. Luckily for Georgetown, they did just that. After a couple of walks drawn by the Hoyas in the bottom of the second, the Blue & Gray broke the game wide open with a bases-clearing double from senior first baseman Christian Ficca that plated three, extending an early Hoyas lead to 5-0. After tacking on seven more runs in the third that included another pair of Ficca RBI, freshman starting pitcher Marcello Mastroianni was able to kick into cruise control. The lefty scattered three hits and four walks across five scoreless frames, lowering his season ERA to 3.60. The bullpen took it from there with five arms combining for the last four innings. Aside from a seventh inning homer from the Revolutionaries, the pen finished out the game without much stress. A few key takeaways from this game:
- It was good to see senior middle infielder Michael Eze bust out of a mini-slump (he went 2-for-11 with 4 Ks against UConn) with a 2-for-4 day that included his fourth homer of the year.
- Mastroianni notched his fifth win of the season and moved to 5-0 overall, the only pitcher in the Big East who is undefeated across more than three starts. Not bad for a freshman.
- This was Ficca’s third game with 5+ RBI. The entire rest of the team has only two such games (Eze and graduate third-baseman Joe Hollerbach each have one).
- The Hoyas swept the season series against GW, previously winning 8-6 on Mar. 12.
Apr. 27-28 vs. Creighton (W, 10-2; W, 4-3)
With the Hoyas landing in Omaha, Neb. on Thursday and at least nine confirmed tornados in the greater Omaha–Lincoln area on Friday with storms continuing through the weekend, it was a borderline miracle the Bluejays and Hoyas were able to get in two baseball games this weekend. What was initially scheduled as a typical Friday to Sunday three-game set turned into a Saturday doubleheader plus a game on Sunday, but mother nature was not having it. The teams ended up finishing game one of the Saturday two-gamer, but had to postpone the last couple innings of game two till Sunday. Luckily, game two was completed in the early afternoon (with multiple delays and resumptions), but the continuing inclement weather meant the Sunday matinee game of the series was scratched altogether. Despite the complications, Georgetown took care of business in convincing fashion.
The Blue & Gray sent sophomore righty Cody Bowker to the mound, who continued his dominant season with six innings of two-run ball, allowing just four hits while striking out eight. He ran into a bit of trouble in the fifth—allowing a double, a walk, and a triple that scored two—but escaped without letting the inning spiral out of control. The Hoya offense was yet again magnificent. Ficca and junior catcher Owen Carapellotti both smashed their tenth homers of the year. Eight of the nine starters recorded a hit and the only starter who didn’t—graduate infielder Josh Rolling—still chipped in with two sac flies. Sophomore righty Kai Leckszas notched the uncommon (but always fun) three-inning save as the Hoyas cruised to a 10-2 victory.
Game two of the doubleheader was much tighter, with only one combined run through the first five innings. In the top of the sixth, three straight singles led to a pair of run-scoring fielder’s choices. A wild pitch extended the lead to 3-1. Creighton got one back off a solo homer in the bottom half of the inning, but the Hoyas maintained the lead going into the eighth inning, off the backs of a fantastic collective game from the pitching staff. With one out in the bottom of the eighth, the game entered a rain delay that would ultimately postpone the final 1.2 innings until Sunday. The Hoyas squeaked by with the 4-3 victory once play resumed the following day. Some key takeaways:
- Four Hoya pitchers—junior lefty Andrew Williams, graduate righty Cody Jensen, sophomore righty Andrew Citron, and senior lefty Everett Catlett—combined to allow only two earned runs while striking out ten.
- The Hoya offense is slashing .296/.410/.480 (AVG/OBP/SLG) on the year, averaging a blistering eight runs a game
- Cody Bowker, since returning from injury on Apr. 7, has thrown 17.1 innings with an ERA of 2.60 to go along with 22 strikeouts. He was named to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll after his dominant start on Saturday.
- Christian Ficca was named Big East Player of the Week after hitting .500 with 8 RBI, and 6 walks.
The Hoyas enter their last stretch of non-conference games before returning to conference play to wrap up the year next week. They play at James Madison on Apr. 30, followed by George Mason on May 1. For continued coverage of all Georgetown sports, follow @GUVoiceSports on X, formerly Twitter.
