Last Wednesday, the Georgetown baseball team had a game rained out in the fourth inning, with the Hoyas in the lead 5-0. The game did not count in the standings, but Georgetown seemed to have bounced back nicely from the previous weekend when the Hoyas dropped three straight to the University of Connecticut.

Georgetown looked to build on Wednesday’s strong, albeit abbreviated, performance and traveled to South Bend, Ind. last weekend to face Notre Dame, ranked 22nd nationally by Baseball America. Yet the Fighting Irish knocked out the Hoyas in devastating fashion, sweeping the three-game series by scores of, 6-2, 13-3, and 12-5.

Georgetown (6-15, 1-8 Big East) has lost six straight games and was outscored by a total of 31-10 by Notre Dame over the weekend. In reality, the games were even more lopsided than the scores alone show, as all but two of Georgetown’s runs came in the seventh inning or later.

In Saturday’s first game, a seven-inning opener of a doubleheader, the Hoyas sent sophomore Eddie Pena to the mound searching for his first win of the year. As has often been the case this season, Georgetown failed to provide Pena with run support. The Hoyas managed just six hits against Notre Dame’s Chris Niesel, who starred for the Irish as a freshman in last year’s College World Series. Niesel overpowered Georgetown’s hitters for most of the game earning 17 of the 21 outs he recorded by strikeouts (9) or groundouts (8).

Pena pitched well in the early going. Notre Dame scored two runs in the bottom of the third inning, although only one was charged to Pena. The Irish broke the game open in the following inning, however, scoring four runs with two outs to take a 6-0 lead.

The Hoyas did not mount a rally until their last at bat in the top of the seventh. Senior Rob O’Hare drew a one-out walk and then advanced to second on a groundout by sophomore Andrew Cleary. Sophomore Ron Cano singled to right-center field to plate O’Hare, and then followed by stealing second. Freshman Danny Gronksi singled up the middle, and Cano raced home to cut Notre Dame’s lead to 6-2. But freshman Timmy Jones struck out to end the threat, and the game.

The Irish started the second game of the doubleheader with a run from Georgetown sophomore Travis Danysh in the bottom of the first inning. The Hoyas came back with two runs in the third inning to take a 2-1 lead. Jones started the inning by reaching on an error, and Gronski followed with a walk. Sophomore Jim Supple then reached first on a bunt single to load the bases. Senior Matt Carullo stepped up and drove in two runs with a single to left-center.

Notre Dame took back the lead in the bottom of the third with two runs of its own. The Irish extended their lead with a run in the fifth inning, and exploded for nine runs in the sixth inning. Three Georgetown pitchers combined to allow seven runs (four earned) on nine hits, giving Notre Dame a 13-2 advantage.

Georgetown managed to add one final run in the ninth inning, thanks to Jones’ first collegiate home run, to make the final score 13-3. Despite Georgetown’s pitching woes, sophomore Tyler Abbott finished the game strong for the Hoyas. Abbott pitched the final two innings and did not allow a hit while striking out two.

Sunday’s series finale was more of the same, as Notre Dame scored early and often against freshman Warren Sizemore. The Irish chased Sizemore from the game after four innings, in which Notre Dame scored nine unanswered runs. Sizemore struggled with his control, walking five over the course of his outing.

Georgetown’s bullpen pitched solidly in relief of Sizemore, as three pitchers combined for four innings while giving up just three runs. Junior Kevin Field was nearly perfect in his two innings of work. Field, who started and pitched well before Wednesday’s game was rained out, walked one batter and hit another but retired six of the eight batters he faced.

The Hoyas’ lineup managed just two hits through six innings, but showed signs of life in the seventh and eighth innings.

In the top of the seventh, Georgetown scored two unearned runs after Notre Dame made two errors on the same play. Jones came to the plate with two outs in the inning and runners at first and second. He grounded to second, but an errant throw to third base by Notre Dame’s Steve Sollman allowed O’Hare to score from second, and Cano scored from first after another throwing error by Irish catcher Cody Rizzo.

Notre Dame added a run in the bottom of the seventh, but Georgetown scored three times in the top of the eighth to make it an 11-5 game. Freshman Ryan Craft hit a pinch-hit sacrifice fly to score Supple and freshman Drew Dargen had a two-run single to bring the Hoyas a bit closer. The lead proved to be insurmountable and the Hoyas eventually lost 12-5, ending a rough road series against a ranked Notre Dame team.

Georgetown’s next game is Wednesday at 3 p.m. against Navy in Annapolis, Md.