Georgetown baseball (18-18, 4-7 Big East) looked very strong on the diamond this week, winning four of their five games. They began the week by avoiding a series sweep by dominant Louisville (23-9, 7-2) and salvaged a 6-3 win over the Cardinals. The Blue and Gray capitalized on their opportunities, and secured the win despite being outhit by the Cardinals. Following a 5-3 home win over a struggling Mount Saint Mary’s (11-24) in which the Hoyas settled down and came back after giving up three runs in top of the first, Georgetown traveled up I-95 for a three-game series against the Big East rival Villanova (19-18, 4-8), in which they took two of three and played well throughout.
In the first game against the Wildcats, senior starting pitcher Will Harris was dominant, allowing just one unearned run in six strong innings. The bullpen then held off a late charge by Villanova in the seventh and eighth innings to hold on for a 6-5 win.
Prolific offense was not enough when Georgetown was plagued by their five errors in the second game of the series, though as three unearned runs in the bottom of the eighth gave the Wildcats the win in a 10-9 slugfest. In the rubber match of the three game set, the Blue and Gray made a statement with an 8-2 win and climbed back to .500 in the process. Sophomore Jack Vander Linden got the start for the Hoyas and went seven innings to improve his record to 4-1, and senior Pablo Vincent shut down Villanova to close out the win. Next up for Georgetown is a non-conference game against Coppin State followed by a three game series against the Fighting Irish.
The Blue and Gray (17-26, 2-9 Big East) did not fare as well in softball, as a series win against a weak St. John’s team (15-28, 3-8) team was the lone bright spot. The Hoyas’ Big East woes continued when the week began as they mustered just one run in a three-game sweep at the hands of DePaul (21-12, 5-1). The DePaul sweep was followed by a five-game road trip that started on a sour note thanks to a doubleheader loss to Pitt (22-17, 5-6) in which the Blue and Gray were outscored an embarrassing 13-1. Those losses extended Georgetown’s losing streak to five games while ensuring that the Hoyas remained winless in Big East play.
Lauren O’Leary had the unenviable task of starting the first game on the mound against the Red Storm in Queens, and she delivered in a big way. The bats struggled again, mustering just two runs but the freshman made that slightly less anemic offensive output stand up as she went the distance, struck out eight and allowed just one run in a complete-game 2-1 win. The solid pitching continued for the Blue and Gray in the second game— and it had to, as the Hoyas scored just three runs— when another freshman, Megan Hyson had a similar line, striking out five while giving up only six hits and one run in a complete-game effort. A lack of offensive production came back to bit the Blue and Gray in the third game of the series, as the Hoyas missed a chance at a sweep thanks to a 2-1 loss. Hyson started again for Georgetown, pitching four scoreless innings before being relieved by Mackensey Carter in the fifth. Carter pitched two scoreless frames before running into trouble in the seventh, as the Red Storm walked of with a victory thanks in part to a key throwing error by Carter. Catcher Shikara Lowe had the lone RBI in the losing effort for the Hoyas.
Next week, the Hoyas stop at Towson for a game before beginning a homestand against a pair of conference opponents in Providence and Villanova.