The Georgetown baseball team (10-6) defeated the Cornell Red Bears (2-6) 9-8 in an extra-inning thriller Sunday, but could not maintain their momentum and fell to No. 24 Maryland (13-3) the day after. After going 1-1 through their most recent games, in addition to picking up a win over George Mason University (7-9), the Hoyas sit with 10 wins on the season, four more than all of last year.

Against Cornell, senior pitcher Carter Bosch recorded the win, giving him a 1-1 record for the season. Cornell’s pitcher William Gilbert took the loss after giving up a walk-off single. Graduate pitcher Nolan McCarthy got the start for the Hoyas, matching up against Cornell pitcher Luke Yacinich.

Cornell infielder Joe Hollerbach got the Red Bears rolling early. Turning on the first pitch, Hollerbach drove the ball into deep left center, clearing the fence. His two-out hit gave Cornell the first lead, something it built on in the third inning. 

After pitching a 1-2-3 second inning, McCarthy ran into a jam. Despite striking out the first batter, an errant throw to first on a ball in the dirt gave Cornell a free baserunner. After a fly-out and wild pitch, McCarthy found himself stuck with a man on third and only one out. 

To help himself out, McCarthy converted the out at home on a ball back to the pitcher and momentarily prevented a run. After walking Hollerbach on four straight balls, McCarthy faced loaded bases with the Red Bears’ clean-up hitter on deck. A single by Cornell outfielder Austin Flematti drove in 2 runs, giving the Red Bears a commanding 3-0 lead entering the bottom of the third. 

Down 3, Georgetown desperately needed a run. With 2 outs, sophomore infielder Jake Hyde stepped up to the plate. Hyde smacked the second pitch over the left-center fence, giving the Hoyas their first run. Georgetown scored once more in the fourth, and the score sat at 2-3 until the seventh.

During the seventh, the Hoyas took over, putting up a five-spot and giving Georgetown a 7-3 lead. From then on, it seemed like it would be smooth sailing for the Hoyas, but Cornell did not go down easily. 

Needing 4 to tie the game in the ninth, Cornell did one better, putting up 5 of its own and taking a 1 run lead into the bottom half. Luckily for Georgetown, graduate infielder Ethan Stern took things into his own hands. Leading off, Stern quickly found himself in a golden count of 3-1. Not wasting the opportunity, Stern tied the game with one swing of the bat, driving the ball over the fence and setting the scene for some free baseball. 

In the tenth, a lead-off single by the Red Bears almost gave them the lead, but Bosch settled in and retired the next three batters. Georgetown quickly bunted its automatic runner at second over to third, setting up the game winning run. Graduate outfielder Evan Blum hit a single, giving the Hoyas the win. 

Unlike its game against Cornell, Georgetown’s offense failed to convert against Maryland, finishing the game with only 3 hits. The only bright spot for the Hoyas was a second inning home run by graduate first baseman Ubaldo Lopez. Georgetown had to pitch by committee after the senior southpaw Kyle Salley got knocked out after completing two innings. 

The Hoyas were fortunate to only lose 5-1. Maryland left 11 runners on base after recording 8 hits and 8 walks. 

Walks have been both a curse and a blessing for Georgetown. As of now, Hoya batters have walked 73 times this season. On the flip side, Georgetown pitchers have walked over 70 batters. 

Despite the occasional lack of accuracy, the Hoyas are second in the Big East with a team earned run average (ERA) of 5.20. Much of their success in the ERA department relies on their excellent opposing team batting average, holding teams to batting .255. Interestingly, Georgetown pitchers have struggled with balking this season, and have done so five times.

In terms of offense, Georgetown relies on the deep ball, as its games against Cornell and Maryland illustrated. The Hoyas have 26 home runs in only 16 games. 

Following the win over George Mason, the Hoyas will look to maintain their mashing ways when they travel to take on Mount St. Mary’s (3-9) in a three-game series over the weekend.