Hoyas Fall Short Out of Conference

It’s been a very exciting season for the Georgetown baseball team as it looks forward to the month of May, which will bring with it the Big East conference championship. Indeed, Big East baseball has become a hot spot for teams with big-name players on offense and on the mound — but Georgetown has risen above that. One would be hard pressed to find a closer-knit group of players than the ones that don the Blue and Gray each day and take to the diamond.

And this team is only getting better. In efforts to make Georgetown baseball an annual contender in the conference, the Hoyas have continued to learn from their mistakes and make adjustments as they play many tough out-of-conference opponents, such as nationally-ranked powers No. 27 George Mason and, on Wednesday night, No. 11 University of Virginia.

Traveling to Charlottesville, Va., Georgetown sent redshirt freshman Jared Cohen (0-2) to the mound to make his first career start. Against a top-15 team, Cohen made a fantastic start, allowing just one run on four hits through the first four innings.

A rough fifth inning saw the Cavaliers put three more runs on the board to take a 4-3 lead. Cohen went five innings, giving up four earned runs, striking out two and walking none in an admirable performance. The Hoyas committed three errors in the game and, though they were not crucial to the outcome, the Georgetown defense proved that it needs to become an area of focus — they are second to last in the Big East with 66 errors on the season. Sophomore Pablo Vinent pitched very well, going one and one-third innings, allowing just two hits and striking out one. Georgetown lost the game 9-3.

The Hoyas were able to take a 3-1 lead in the fourth when freshman second baseman Andy Lentz led off with a single and senior left fielder Sean Baumann followed suit two at-bats later with a single of his own. Up to the plate stepped sophomore third baseman Sean Lamont, who slammed a three-run homerun for his 11th of the season — good for second in the Big East.

Lamont’s three RBIs keep him atop the Hoya leader board in RBIs with 37, which puts him in the top 15 in the Big East. Lamont is the first Georgetown player to have back-to-back double-digit homerun seasons since the Hoyas joined the Big East in 1985.

On Tuesday night, the Hoyas took on the UMBC Retrievers for a home game at Shirley Povich Field in Bethesda. Sophomore Dan Godefroi took the mound for his first start of the season and allowed just two earned runs over five innings, striking out three and walking none.

Georgetown’s offense was on fire, smacking 16 hits. But a problem all season for Georgetown has been hitting with runners on base — this time the Hoyas left 11 on base. Five Georgetown players had multi-hit games, including a 3-for-5 game from Lentz, who also scored two runs and drove in one more. Lamont was also 3-for-5 with an RBI. Three Hoyas went deep in the game: Baumann and sophomore catcher Erick Fernandez — who leads the team with a .370 batting average — launched their fifth home runs of the year, and junior shortstop Tom Elliott crushed his sixth of the year, good for second on the team.

The home runs by Fernandez and Baumann came in exciting fashion as part of a ninth-inning rally with the Hoyas down 9-3. After Lentz drove in senior center fielder and co-captain Tommy Lee to make it 9-4, Fernandez stepped up to pinch hit and promptly made it a 9-6 game. Baumann came up next to make it back-to-back Georgetown dingers, pulling Georgetown within two runs with just one out. But the Hoyas lost in heartbreaking fashion. With the bases loaded and two outs, senior catcher and co-captain Greg Pustizzi lined out to end the game and the Hoyas’ hope of coming back for their 12th win of the season.

The good news is that these out-of-conference matchups are not important to Georgetown’s conference playoff dreams. The Hoyas needed to keep their competition level and focus high as they now prepare for crucial series against the bottom tier of the Big East. Next up is Seton Hall, a team with a great pitching staff but below-average defense. But the Hoyas always need to be careful about looking past struggling teams.

“Baseball is a great game because anyone can beat anybody on any given day — there is no David vs. Goliath,” Capeless said earlier this season. “We have lost games to teams that are not as talented as us, but that’s baseball. If we play our level of baseball consistently, regardless of the name on the opponent’s jersey, we will be well on our way to the tournament.”

Finally, with excellent performances from its younger players under the guidance and leadership of its seniors, Georgetown looks to become a serious contender within the Big East and on the national spotlight in the years to come.

“Playing baseball is a mentality,” Lee said. “It needs to be approached the same every game. That confidence and composure need to stay constant regardless of the opponent. This year we look to take this team to the next level both with success in the box score as well as creating a lasting mentality that will continue success in years to come. This year's team has the talent, camaraderie and veterans to set a new standard for Georgetown baseball. Everyone on the team will accept nothing less.”