Faulty pitching and early errors doomed baseball in its game against crosstown rivals Georgetown Wednesday afternoon.
The Colonials (3–4) were crushed 14–4 by the Hoyas (1–6) at Tucker Field – going through eight different pitchers in the effort. GW amassed just seven hits to Georgetown’s 15.
Head coach Gregg Ritchie said the team failed to take advantage of scoring opportunities which affected the team’s overall performance for the afternoon.
“It was not a well-played game by us,” Ritchie said. “We were behind on the mound, giving up at-bats, committed errors early, so it wasn’t a very clean game. You have to play a clean game from the beginning, it sets a tempo.”
Following a series sweep of Saint Peter’s last weekend, the Colonials looked to keep the momentum going against a Georgetown team that came into the game with a 0–6 record to start the season.
Senior southpaw Pat Knight, who tied for most wins on the team with five last season, took the mound for his first start of the new campaign against Georgetown senior pitcher Jack Cushing.
The Colonials ran into trouble right out of the gate when a dropped infield pop-up by freshman first baseman Derek Ripp in the top of the first inning allowed Georgetown to score.
But the Colonials immediately responded in the bottom of the first inning after a double by junior shortstop Nate Fassnacht put him in position to score on a groundout later in the inning to tie the game 1–1.
A second error by Ripp in the top of the third inning set up the Hoyas to score a second run off a triple later in the inning.
Ripp was pulled from the game in the bottom half of the inning in favor of redshirt sophomore outfielder Colin Brophy, who moved to left field with senior utility player Dom D’Alessandro taking over at first base.
The Colonials were able to plate a second run in the bottom of the third inning after a single by junior utility player Steve Barmakian scored freshman outfielder Cade Fergus to tie the game 2–2.
An RBI triple by the Hoyas in the fourth inning again gave the team a one-run lead, but the Colonials began to unravel on the mound in the fifth inning.
The Hoyas scored another run off an RBI double after junior right-handed pitcher Cal Stalzer replaced Knight to start the fifth inning.
After facing just four batters and loading the bases, Stalzer was replaced by junior right-handed pitcher Andrew Wheeler, who entered the game sporting a 3.60 earned run average. Wheeler gave up a two-run single which allowed the Hoyas to tack on two more runs for a 6–2 lead.
At the plate, the Colonials were only able to string together a total of five hits against Cushing, who remained on the mound for the Hoyas through seven innings while allowing just two runs.
Redshirt senior left-handed pitcher Kevin Hodgson and junior right-handed pitcher Emmett Harkins settled the Hoyas down in the sixth and seventh innings, respectively, as each held Georgetown.
The Hoyas continued their offensive onslaught in the eighth inning. Junior right-handed pitcher Keagan McGinnis and sophomore right-handed pitcher Kevin Sylvestri surrendered a combined eight runs on five hits to the Hoyas.
Freshman right-handed pitcher Blake Ripp pitched the team out of the remainder of the eighth inning as the Colonials’ eighth and final pitcher of the afternoon.
A ninth-inning sacrifice fly by junior catcher Greg Anderberg scored D’Alessandro, and a bases-loaded walk provided the Colonials’ final two runs of the day, but it was not enough to mount a comeback.
Ritchie said the team cannot ignore the loss and will need to learn from it moving forward.
“It’s about experience, it’s about maturity and it’s about moving forward with the right mindset,” he said. “We’ll find out how resilient we are – that’s going to be the key word, resiliency.”
The Colonials return to action Friday for a three-game series against Manhattan at Tucker Field. First pitch is slated for 2:30 p.m.
