Entering the weekend, the Georgetown baseball team (22-15, 5-7) faced a crucial matchup against Seton Hall (21-16, 7-5). Win the series against the Pirates, and the Hoyas could reach .500 in Big East play and solidify their position in the conference’s top eight, increasing their chance of a berth in the year-end Big East tournament. Sweep the three-game series, and they could establish themselves in the Big East’s upper echelon.

All hope of upward mobility was lost by Saturday, however, as Seton Hall eased into victory in the first two games by scores of 9-2 and 11-4. Despite the setbacks, the Blue and Gray displayed their resilience by taking the final game 2-0 on the back of an excellent performance by freshman pitcher Matt Smith to remain in eighth place in the conference.

In Friday’s game, Georgetown manufactured a couple of early runs to take a 2-1 lead when  senior second baseman Danny Poplawski scored on a fielder’s choice in the first inning and junior first baseman Steve Anderson drove Poplawski in on a single in the fourth.

Although Poplawski’s pair of runs seemed a good omen and Georgetown redshirt sophomore and top starting pitcher Jack Vander Linden was dealing in the first four innings, Seton Hall quickly turned the tide and took control in the fifth. Vander Linden allowed the first five batters to reach base and the Pirates scored four runs in the frame, taking a lead that they would not relinquish.

On Saturday, Seton Hall took the lead early and rolled to an 11-4 victory, leaving Georgetown desperate for a series-redeeming win on Sunday. The Pirates scored in bursts, with three runs in the second inning and four in the fourth, while senior shortstop Giuseppe Papaccio recorded five RBIs, keying the Pirates to a win. Georgetown senior starting pitcher Thomas Polus struggled on the mound, giving up eight runs — four earned — in just four innings of work.

For a team that had given up an average of 10 runs per game in the first two games of the series, Georgetown’s pitching performance on Sunday was a much needed turnaround. Smith, making just his fifth start of the season, held the Pirates to six hits in 5 and 1/3 innings. When Smith put runners on second and third in the sixth inning, he was replaced by senior setup man Neal Dennison, who escaped the jam by retiring the next two batters.

Dennison would pitch for two more innings, giving up only two hits, before senior closer Charlie Steinman recorded his eighth save of the season in the ninth.

On the offensive end, the Blue and Gray were galvanized by senior center fielder Justin Leeson, who reached base with no outs to commence both Georgetown scoring efforts and scored both runs. In the first inning, Leeson reached second when freshman catcher Eric Webber was hit by a pitch, and he scored when junior right fielder Christian Venditti hit a two-out single. In the sixth, Webber moved Leeson to second on a sacrifice bunt, and freshman catcher Nick Collins hit a single up the middle to drive him in.

The two manufactured runs were all the Hoyas needed to salvage the final game of the series, a win that put them two games below .500 in the Big East. Despite losing the weekend series, the Hoyas are still in position to reach the conference tournament, Head Coach Pete Wilk’s stated goal at the start of the season. They are only one game ahead of Notre Dame in the eighth spot, however, and their postseason aspirations will be put to the test in the near future; in their next three conference series, they face Louisville, Pittsburgh and Rutgers — all in the top six of the Big East standings.

Before Georgetown encounters any of these foreboding matchups — including a series against Louisville this weekend — it will take a short respite from conference play to face Coppin State (12-25, 7-11 MEAC) in Baltimore on Wednesday. The Hoyas have had no trouble clipping the Eagles’ wings in recent years, winning 17-11 last year and 19-7 in 2011. If history is any indication, the Coppin State matchup will help recalibrate a Georgetown offense that managed only eight runs over the weekend. First pitch will be at 7 p.m.