Their inaugural season is proving increasingly difficult for the Georgetown softball team. Last weekend at the Highlander Softball Classic in Radford, Va., the Hoyas (1-13) dropped all four of their games and finished fourth out of four competitors.
Georgetown started the tournament against eventual-winner and host Radford (19-14), and the 11-0 loss was not a pretty affair. Freshman Courtney Clark started in the pitcher’s circle for the Hoyas and surrendered all 11 runs over the course of the first four innings.
Radford set a school record with five home runs and sophomore designated hitter Ashley Taylor tied a school record with two homers. Georgetown was a single – from catcher Katherine Incantalupo – away from being no-hit.
In the second game, the Hoyas matched up with Howard University (11-9) and fell 9-2. Though Georgetown managed to keep the first three innings scoreless, the Bison got the scoring started with two runs in the fourth and didn’t look back. They added two in the fourth – the Hoyas answered with one in the bottom of the inning – and five in the seventh.
Offensively, Georgetown managed 10 hits – junior catcher Cathy Richter had three – and the two runs batted in came from sophomore left fielder Brittany Sonnichsen and sophomore pinch-hitter Christine Calabrese.
On the mound, sophomore Anna Wheatley went the distance but surrendered nine runs – just three earned – on 12 hits. With the loss, Wheatley dropped to 0-5 on the season.
Georgetown started the second day with a 26-0 defeat to Longwood University. The Hoyas surrendered nine runs in the first and four more runs within the next inning and a third, at which point Georgetown pulled Wheatley, the starter. Clark entered in relief and finished the game for the Hoyas. Offensively, Georgetown was held to just five singles.
To conclude the weekend, the Hoyas opposed the Bison once again and fell 11-3.
Georgetown did have one offensive outburst, a three-run third inning. Richter, the Hoyas’ lone all-tournament selection, doubled in sophomore centerfielder Katharine Lang for the first run. Calabrese added a two-run single later in the frame to conclude Georgetown’s scoring spurt.
The weekend statistics for the Hoyas were disappointing to some. Georgetown was outscored 57-5 and outhit 64-19. The Hoyas also committed 12 errors in the four games. Wheatley surrendered 20 earned runs in just 11.1 innings, while Clark gave up 28 in 9.1. Richter’s performance was one of the few bright spots for the Hoyas, and she upped her season batting average to .375. She finished the weekend with four hits and an RBI.
Georgetown returns to the field on April 4 for a doubleheader against the University of Maryland at Baltimore County.