Every time junior shortstop Matt Bouchard steps up to the plate and belts another base hit or makes a circus catch in the hole, Georgetown Head Coach Pete Wilk feels a little more comfortable.

Before the start of the season, Wilk named Bouchard co-captain, a designation that carries sky-high expectations and is rarely granted to a third-year player. On Wednesday, Bouchard continued to impress his coach, scoring a run and making an impressive grab in the final inning to lead the Hoyas in a 3-1 victory over Mount St. ary’s at Shirley Povich Field.

“I have never looked back on that decision,” Wilk said of his pre-season assessment. “It was a pretty easy thing to do at the time, because he was leading us all fall, and the kids were going to him.”

Bouchard’s big day began when he led off the third with a sharp single to left field.

Senior catcher Brandon Davis, who shares captainship with Bouchard, scored the right handed shortstop with a double deep down the left field line. After Davis advanced to third on a wild pitch by Mountaineer junior righty Andrew Germuth, Georgetown junior designated hitter Andrew Iannetta strode to the plate. Iannetta drove in Davis on a deft sacrifice fly, and the Hoyas took a 3-1 lead.

Freshman right-hander Tim Adleman held strong for six and one-third innings, tying a career high with eight strikeouts and earning his second win of the season. Fellow freshman Jack Bender came onto the diamond to relieve Adleman and help preserve the two-run lead into the ninth.

The combined efforts of Adleman and Bender exemplify a talented but streaky infusion of youth on the Georgetown box score. While impressed by their performances, Wilk is hesitant to heap praise on his young starters.

“They are playing like freshman at times. Tim has had two very strong outings and two very poor ones,” Wilk said. “You never know what you will get with freshmen this early in the season.”

Junior right-hander Daniel Kennedy took the mound in the ninth and proceeded to give up a lead-off single to senior second baseman att Trusch. A one-out balk by Kennedy advanced Trusch to second, and when Mount senior shortstop Mike Gioioso smacked a screamer towards center field, it seemed certain that Trusch would score and the tying run would be on board with only one out.

But Bouchard would have no part of it, making a sliding grab deep in the hole and hurling a laser to first to nab Gioioso and hold Trusch at third. Kennedy struck out sophomore centerfielder Ivor Hodgson on the next at bat, capping the Hoyas’ second straight victory.

Bouchard’s dazzling snare caused even the straight-talking Wilk to gush.

“It was a huge play, not only because of the importance and the timing of it, but because of the level of difficulty.” Wilk said. “That’s one of the better plays I’ve seen at this level.”

The grab was especially significant for a team that has suffered its share of woeful errors in the infield. Wilk wishes that his captain’s glove wizardry will rub off on the rest of his team.

“I sure as hell hope so,” Wilk said when asked if the catch would be a turning point for his team’s defensive effort. “[Bouchard’s] defense is great, but there are eight other guys that need to be strong on defense as well.”

Georgetown will need its share of web gems this weekend when it heads to New Brunswick, N.J. for a three-game set with Rutgers to open the Big East schedule. The Scarlet Knights, led by heavy-hitting junior left fielder Ryan Hill, have already claimed wins over NCAA baseball superpowers Miami and Georgia Tech this season.

“They have been strong as long as I have been here,” Wilk said over the phone Thursday. “They start some pretty big boys, and they go out and beat people. They have a pretty darn good team.”

The Hoyas will once again call on the leadership of Bouchard and Davis as well as the potent hitting power of senior centerfielder ark McLaughlin to challenge a Rutgers’ squad coached by Fred Hill. Hill, whose brother Brian is the head coach of the Orlando agic and whose son plays for the Scarlet Knights, has the most Big East wins in league history and has always seemed to have the Hoyas’ number.

“We have never played well in New Jersey, but I hope these kids either don’t remember that or don’t care,” Wilk said. “We have played strong baseball the last week. We are pitching well, but I would still like to be putting up more runs and playing better defense.”

While the Hoyas’ head man is excited to begin conference play, he hopes that come Friday afternoon, his team will forget all the external distractions and just play the game.

“I’m almost blind to results right now, as long as we play good baseball,” Wilk said. “If we do that, the results will take care of themselves.”