The Georgetown softball team’s storybook season finally came to an end May 9 in the Big East championship semifinals. At The Ballpark in Rosemont, Ill., the third-seeded Georgetown suffered a 5-3 loss to the second seed, St. John’s.
The Big East championship, is comprised of the top four teams in the Big East. DePaul (41-9) earned the top overall seed in the tournament after cruising to an 18-1 Big East record. Meanwhile St. John’s (29-22, 12-8 Big East), Georgetown (26-22, 12-8 Big East) and Creighton (29-24, 10-10 Big East) were the remaining teams in the field, finishing second, third and fourth, respectively, in the conference.
Earlier in the season, St. John’s won two games in the teams’ three-game series. The first game, Georgetown’s only win, was a pitcher’s duel. After seven scoreless innings, the game went into extra innings, where Georgetown eventually won on a walk-off sacrifice fly.
The Red Storm, however, would respond in the next two games. They won the second game 12-2 in six innings and returned to rock Georgetown pitching in the third game — a 9-6 win for St. John’s.
In the semifinal game, junior pitcher Lauren O’Leary got the start for the Hoyas, but she immediately struggled. After allowing back-to-back singles in the bottom of the first, O’Leary walked junior catcher Erin Burner to load the bases.
The Hoyas would tie the game in the top half of the second. Georgetown loaded the bases with three consecutive walks, and a fourth straight walk forced in a run. Then, with the bases still loaded, senior center fielder Elyse Graziano reached on an error, which allowed another Georgetown run to score.
O’Leary continued to struggle in the second inning. After a St. John’s run scored on a sacrifice fly, the junior pitcher gave up a solo home run to center. In 1 2/3 innings, O’Leary gave up four earned runs on four hits and three walks while striking out one. Junior pitcher Megan Hyson relieved O’Leary and pitched the remainder of the game.
Offensively, both teams struggled in the middle innings. Hyson and St. John’s sophomore pitcher Tori Free cruised through the opposing lineups and the score remained 4-2.
Georgetown, however, would strike in the top of the sixth. Sophomore left fielder Samantha Giovanniello led off the inning with a single to center. After two sacrifices, Giovanniello was on third and would score on an illegal pitch, which made the score 4-3.
But St. John’s responded with an insurance run in the bottom half of the inning. After Hyson recorded the first out, she gave up a home run to senior first baseman Jackie Reed — her second of the game.
In the top of the seventh, Free retired the Georgetown batters in order, securing the 5-3 win.
Hyson pitched a season-high 4 1/3 innings in relief, giving up one run on three hits and two walks while striking out two. Free led the Red Storm, pitching the entire game and giving up three runs on two hits and nine walks while striking out two.
Although Georgetown’s season ended with the loss, it was a record-breaking season for the program. It was the first time the team recorded an overall winning record and a winning record in the Big East.
