This past weekend, the Hoyas (4-3) travelled down to Winston-Salem, N.C., to take part in the Wake Forest Baseball Classic. Shutdown performances from the bullpen and an offensive explosion by the potent Hoya lineup propelled Georgetown to victories over Northwestern and Delaware State. The Blue and Gray were unable to extend their winning streak to three, however, ultimately coming up short against the hosts, the Demon Deacons, in Sunday’s second game.

The Hoyas looked like they were in trouble against Northwestern in the weekend opener. Junior starting pitcher Will Harris gave up five runs over the course of the first five innings to put his team behind, 5-3. Then junior rightfielder and Big East player of the week Rand Ravnaas — wielding perhaps the hottest bat on the team — changed the momentum of the game with just one swing. Ravnaas smoked a two-run homer to right center, plating sophomore centerfielder Justin Leeson and tying the game at five.

The Blue and Gray kept plugging away and were finally rewarded when the Northwestern bullpen fell apart in the bottom of the seventh. Ravnaas scored the go-ahead run on a passed ball, and senior third baseman Sean Lamont scored on a walk by sophomore Paul Bello.

Head Coach Pete Wilk then turned the ball over to senior right-handed pitcher Pablo Vinent, who shut down the Wildcats in the seventh. Vinent was followed by redshirt senior right-handed pitcher Mike Seander, who allowed just one baserunner over two scoreless innings to pick up his first save of the season in the Hoyas’ 7-5 win.

Georgetown returned to action early the next morning against Delaware State. The Blue and Gray fell behind early once again, but were able to pull out their fourth win of the season thanks to shutdown pitching from the bullpen and clutch hitting in the sixth and seventh innings.

Starting pitcher junior Tommy Isaacs lasted only two innings for the Hoyas and left with his team trailing, 3-1. The Georgetown pitching staff recovered, though, as the bullpen shut out the Hornets in seven dominant innings thanks to sophomore relievers Tommy Polus and Bobby Kirby. Polus struck out two in four scoreless innings to earn the win and Kirby went three scoreless innings to record the save.

The stellar pitching by the bullpen gave the Hoyas’ lethal top-of–the-lineup tandem of Leeson and Ravnaas time to spark a comeback. After Leeson tripled in the top of the third, Ravnaas knocked him in with a single. Senior first baseman Dan Capeless then scored Ravnaas and tied the game with a single up the middle.

Capeless’ day was far from over. With the score tied at three in the sixth, Capeless jacked a two-run homer to right field, scoring freshman Steve Anderson and putting the Hoyas on top, 5-3.

Georgetown added another run in the seventh thanks to Ravnaas’ second RBI on the day, capping the 6-3 victory. The Blue and Gray improved to 4-2 with their second straight win.

Against Wake Forest on Sunday, the Hoyas fell behind early for the third straight game. However, unlike their previous two outings, they were unable to claw their way back for a win. Senior starting pitcher Alex Meyer let in seven runs in two and a third innings, requiring another extended outing from the Hoya bullpen.

Just like the first two games of the weekend, the Georgetown relievers answered the call. Vinent and sophomores Charlie Steinman and Neal Dennison gave up only three hits over five and two thirds shutout innings.

Inspired by the performance of the bullpen, the Blue and Gray hitters rallied.

Senior catcher Erick Fernandez put Georgetown on the board with a solo homer in the fifth. The Blue and Gray added two more runs in the seventh after an RBI double from Fernandez and an RBI single from Anderson.

The Hoyas entered the ninth down, 7-3, but refused to go quietly. Lamont and Fernandez both reached with a single and double, respectively. Capeless knocked in Lamont with a single and advanced Fernandez to third, leaving runners on the corners. Fernandez scored on a passed ball, cutting the deficit to only two. With the winning run at the plate, Wake Forest summoned reliever Chris Wilson, who put an end to the Hoyas’ hopes for a third straight comeback.

The Hoyas return to the diamond on Wednesday to take on George Washington at 2:30 p.m. in Arlington, Va.