The Hoyas’ offense has not been good this season but they have always managed to knock in a hit or two – until they were blanked by St. John’s, that is.

Just a few days after Head Coach Pete Wilk had voiced his concerns over an anemic offense, St. John’s became the latest team to lay a shellacking on the Hoyas, who were swept by the Red Storm over the weekend in a three game series at Shirley Povich Field. Georgetown (14-26, 3-11 Big East) continued its slippery slide to the bottom of the conference standings with the 16-0 defeat, while St. John’s (25-12, 11-4) clawed their way into a two-way tie for second place in the Big East. Despite the first game’s thrashing, the Hoyas put up a fight in the two later losses.

Friday’s matchup was a disturbing sight for the 75 loyal members of the Hoya faithful who made the trek up 495 to Rockville, d. Sophomore south paw Scott Barnes hurled a no-hitter for St. John’s and struck out 14 Georgetown batsmen.

“That was the first no-hitter I’ve seen in my 12 years here at St. John’s,” Red Storm Head Coach Ed Blankenmeyer said in a press release. “He was dominant for most of the night.” No St. John’s pitcher had thrown a no-hitter since 1976.

As brilliant as Barnes’ mound work was, Georgetown’s pitching was equally as troublesome. Freshman right-hander Tim Adleman and sophomore lefty Andy Ferich each allowed five earned runs in four and three innings, respectively, and freshman right-hander Billy Concannon did little to stop the bleeding, relinquishing another two earned runs over the final two innings. The Red Storm’s freshman leadoff hitter, Brian Kemp, was a nightmare for Georgetown’s trio of hurlers, smacking four hits, and seniors right fielder Anthony Smith and first basemen Ryan Mohoney walloped homers over the heads of the Hoya outfield.

“We played pretty poorly on Friday – uninspired baseball,” Wilk said Monday. “This game rewards excellence, and they played well and we didn’t.”

Georgetown kept it close on Saturday afternoon thanks to another solid start by Big East Honor Roll recipient Michael Gaggioli, but could not hold on in the late going.

Gaggioli, a junior left-hander who has established himself as the rotation’s go-to guy, struck out three batters and received a no-decision in the 8-2 loss. The teams traded runs in the early innings, and the score was knotted at two headed into the Red Storm ninth. Georgetown junior Daniel Kennedy entered from the bullpen to pitch the final frame, but a two-run triple off the bat of junior shortstop Jeff Grantham gave the visiting team the lead. Senior second basemen Sam DeLuca and junior third basemen Gil Zayas finished off the Hoyas by reaching safely on RBI knocks.

“When it came down to it, they executed routine plays, and we didn’t,” Wilk said. “That was basically the story of the whole weekend.”

However disheartening the weekend’s losses may have been, Wilk can at least take solace in his team’s marked improvement over the three game set, which culminated in a 4-2 loss in an extra innings squeaker on Sunday.

Sophomore right-handed fire-baller Jimmy Saris tossed eight solid innings, and stellar hitting by senior center fielder Mark cLaughlin and sophomore right fielder Kelly Muir, who both went 3-5 on the day, helped Georgetown rally from a one-run deficit in the second inning. McLauglin’s single in the 10th showed a glimmer of hope for the Hoyas, but the speedy leadoff hitter wasn’t quick enough for freshman catcher Joe Witkowski, who nabbed McLaughlin trying to steal second.

Freshman right-hander Cary Piligan had all but closed out the 11th, retiring the first two batters on a ground ball and flyout, respectively, but disaster struck when junior right-fielder Chris Anninos came up to bat. Anninos swatted a two-run jack off Piligan, giving the Red Storm the lead that proved the difference.

“We played with focus and energy [on Sunday],” Wilk said. “We lost three tough ones, and hopefully we can move forward.”

Georgetown carries the burden of this weekend’s fiasco into a mid-week home game with Mount St. Mary’s, a team that Georgetown defeated 3-1 on March 21. Junior right-hander Erick Chandler, who is 1-1 on the season, will get the nod for the Hoyas.. Senior co-captain Brandon Davis remains optimistic heading into the teams’ non-conference affair.

“We went from playing our worst baseball on Friday to leaving everything we had on the field on Saturday and Sunday,” Davis said. “If we continue to play the way we did the last two games, we will have a huge turn around the remainder of the season.”