Even with a dominant 16-6 defeat of Navy, the Georgetown baseball team, plagued by six defensive errors and numerous passed balls, finished out its opening week with a three-game losing streak. Despite their 10-run victory over the Midshipmen on Feb. 14, the Hoyas fell 6-2 and 6-3 to Navy in the following days before dropping a tight contest with George Washington 3-2. 

The Blue and Gray (1-3) opened up their season against the Naval Academy Midshipmen (3-1) with a strong first inning, managing to score four runs and preventing Navy from touching home despite the first two batters each reaching base with singles. 

Senior outfielder AJ Lotsis contributed an RBI for the Hoyas to begin the scoring, grounding out to first with the bases loaded to advance the runners. 

Following the run, junior outfielder Kai Nelson and junior infielder Eddie McCabe were able to get on base and score for the Hoyas. Senior infielder John Simourian also contributed a run for the Hoyas. 

In the third inning, a home run by Navy first baseman Zach Stevens off of sophomore pitcher Carter Bosch put the first run on the board for the Midshipmen. 

In the bottom of the third inning, Lotsis powered a ball out of the park for a three-run home run, bringing home both Nelson and McCabe and increasing the Hoyas’ lead to 7-1 at the end of the third.

The Naval Academy clawed its way back with two runs in the fourth courtesy of two walks to outfielder Matt Wolff and infielder Jacob Williamson followed by a string of passed balls and a wild pitch that allowed the Midshipmen to score another run. A home run by Stevens to left center in the fifth inning continued Navy’s success at the plate, closing the deficit to 7-4. 

The Hoyas blew the game open in the sixth inning, where they tallied seven runs while holding the Midshipmen scoreless. Senior outfielder Ryan Davis’ three-run homer paved the way for the Blue and Gray’s dominant inning, which was followed by three consecutive walks and hits from Lotsis and sophomore infielder Alex Rosen.  

In the seventh inning, the Midshipmen attempted to climb back, scoring two runs and holding the Hoyas to only one. Senior pitcher Noah Abdalla, in his first appearance with the Hoyas in two years, held Navy to a four-at-bat eighth inning to close out the game, stifling any comeback attempt in the 16-6 victory.

The Hoyas and Midshipmen returned to the diamond Feb. 15 for a rematch. The game saw little success at the plate for the Hoyas, who totaled just seven hits on the day compared to 12 in the prior game. 

The Midshipmen struck first with an unearned run off of a wild pitch in the first inning. Lotsis answered with a home run to center field in the second, driving home Nelson to bring the score to 2-1. 

While the Midshipmen scored in the first inning, neither team found any scoring success in the third through sixth innings. This scoring drought was broken by the Naval Academy’s catcher Christian Policelli, senior infielder Zach Biggers, and sophomore outfielder Joe Simourian in the seventh inning, followed by two runs courtesy of Biggers and freshman infielder Cole Reibenspies in the eighth. This rally brought the final score to 6-2, with the Naval Academy coming out on top.

The Hoyas’ third and final matchup against the Midshipmen came on Sunday, Feb. 16. The Blue and Gray struggled again to find success at the plate, only recording four hits in the game whereas the Midshipmen doubled this number with eight hits. 

Neither team managed to score until the third inning, when the Naval Academy’s Williamson scored on a throwing error by third basemen McCabe. 

The Hoyas fought back with a solo shot from Lotsis in the fifth inning, knotting the score at one and marking the senior outfielder’s third homer of the weekend. In just four games, Lotsis approaches his home run total of four in 35 games last season.

The Midshipmen reclaimed the lead with four runs in the sixth and one run in the seventh. The Hoyas’ two runs in the bottom of the eighth were not enough to deliver them their second victory of the weekend.

The Hoyas next faced George Washington (2-1) in Arlington, Va., on the Colonials’ home field on Feb. 18. In spite of totaling seven hits to GW’s four, Georgetown’s offense remained silent for the final two innings and failed to overcome a one-run deficit. After falling behind 2-0 in the first three innings, Lotsis tallied one of Georgetown’s two runs after advancing on a throwing error, followed by a single by junior infielder Yareb Martinez to pull within one run. 

Following another Colonial run in the fifth inning, Martinez scored a run off of a McCabe RBI in the seventh, but that run was not quite enough as the Hoyas fell to their Washington, D.C. rival 3-2. 

The Hoyas will be back in action on Friday, Feb. 21 in Davidson, N.C., against Davidson College. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.