With a rain delay, another delay for poor field conditions and a 22-10 loss to William and Mary, opening day was nearly an endless ordeal for the Georgetown baseball team.

Though William and Mary (1-0) claimed a double-digit win in its home opener, the marathon between the Hoyas (0-1) and the Tribe was more of a battle of attrition than it was a victory, as the two teams went through 14 pitchers, walked 26 batters and gave up 26 earned runs. Thirty-one hours passed between the first pitch and the final out in what Georgetown Head Coach Pete Wilk called an “ugly, ugly game.”

A sample from the play by play goes something like this: double, wild pitch, single (run scored), triple (run scored), single (run scored), walk, walk, fly out (run scored), double (two runs scored), pitching change. Walk, fly out, wild pitch, walk, walk (run scored), strike out. Seven runs, five hits, no errors, three left on base.

And that was just the bottom of the second inning. The Tribe went on to score another run in the third, four in the fourth and five each in the fifth and sixth innings. Junior third baseman Greg Sexton had six RBI on 4-for-7 hitting. Two others, sophomore centerfielder Sean Grieve and freshman outfielder Ben Guez, went 3-for-4.

The Hoyas put together some runs of their own, including a three-run second inning. The rest were spaced out over Sunday’s innings.

Wilk did say that he was pleased with the offense’s ability to put together what he called quality at bats, which for him includes criteria such as a good count, hard contact, getting on base, seeing five or more pitches or advancing runners.

“We’re looking for them to have an educated at bat,” he said. “We really only had two or three, by my count, that were negative at bats. That’s pretty darn good.”

Junior outfielder Mark McLaughlin paced the Hoya lineup. Batting leadoff, McLaughlin went 3-for-4 with four RBI, two runs and two walks, plus a stolen base. And sophomore designated hitter Matt Harrigan went 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI in his starting debut.

“We put up 10 runs. We ought to be able to win,” Wilk said. “The pitching didn’t follow through on their end of the bargain.”

No. 1 starter Michael Gaggioli, a left-handed sophomore, gave up seven runs, all earned, and five hits in 1.1 innings to take the loss. Gaggioli, who allowed only 18 free passes in 84.1 innings last year, gave up three without striking anyone out in his brief appearance Saturday. “That’s just not him,” Wilk said.

Overall, the eight pitchers that took the mound gave up 16 walks and threw six wild pitches. Those performances allowed William and ary to earn more runs (22) than hits (15).

“It was despicable,” Wilk said. “We can’t beat a little league team walking 16 guys. Nobody can.”

But there was a silver lining to the cloud in the form of freshmen Darren Sizemore and Andy Ferich. Sizemore pitched the eighth inning and retired all three batters he faced. Ferich allowed one hit and one walk. Both struck out two batters.

“The only two positives [of the pitching] were the two freshmen,” Wilk said. “One of the good things about getting blown out is that you can put a freshman in a no-pressure situation and introduce them to college baseball. . Those guys – both of them, Ferich and Sizemore – went in and did what the other guys should’ve done. They pitched well.”

Sophomore right-hander Pat Kantakevich earned the win for the Tribe, pitching three innings once the game resumed on Sunday. His brother Joe, a senior righty, started the game on Saturday.

William and Mary moves to 10-1 versus Georgetown over the past six seasons. There was a second game planned for Sunday, but it was canceled.

Next weekend Georgetown travels to North Carolina for a three-game series against another traditional non-conference opponent, Davidson. Last year the Hoyas took two of three from the Wildcats. If the weather can hold out – right now the forecast calls for rain on Friday and Saturday at Davidson – that series offers Georgetown another chance to get the season started off on the right foot.

“I’m hoping that this is an aberration,” Wilk said. “If this is the rule rather than the exception, then we’re in for a long year, but I don’t think it is. We’re more talented than this.”