The Hoyas finally trotted onto the diamond at Shirley Povich Field Sunday against Penn (5-6) after their home opener was postponed for over a month due to wintry weather. Georgetown (8-11) split the doubleheader with the Quakers in a suspense-filled afternoon complete with the late-game heroics that have defined Head Coach Pete Wilk’s young squad.

“It was special,” Wilk said of the two-game match in Rockville, Md. “It took a lot of work to get that field ready to play, and I was really happy to get out there and play.”

Wilk admitted to feeling a terrible sense of déjà vu when he awoke Saturday morning to the same foreboding clouds and driving rain. When word came that the conditions had once again rendered the Povich playing surface inoperative, many members of the team wondered if they would ever play baseball in the District again.

“That’s the reality of playing in this region sometimes,” Wilk said of his team’s ongoing duel with Old Man Winter. “I knew it was going to take a miracle to play Saturday.”

But the sun came out Sunday, and when sophomore ace Jimmy Saris hurled a fastball past Penn’s Alex Nwaka, the 2007 Georgetown home slate was finally underway. While the elements had finally shown mercy on the Hoyas, the Quakers were not so lucky. After fanning Nwaka to open the game, Saris was shelled for seven runs over five innings of work. Penn rookie right hander Todd Roth threw a complete game shutout, allowing six hits and retiring 26 out of the 28 Hoyas he faced. Freshman second baseman Steve Gable led the Quakers’ offensive onslaught for an 8-0 victory.

“I was a little disappointed that we didn’t get on [Roth]. We knew exactly from the scouting report what we were going to face and it shouldn’t have been a surprise, but the kid did a good job,” Wilk said. “Saris pitched better than his numbers looked, but it wasn’t a typical Jimmy outing.”

Georgetown jumped out to an early lead in game two, when Bouchard knocked in senior centerfielder Mark McLaughlin in the third inning. The Quakers charged back to take the lead in the fourth when right fielder Jarron Smith jacked a two-run double off junior right hander Mike Gaggioli. In the ninth, the one-two punch of Bouchard and McLaughlin saved the day for the Hoyas after the junior co-captain scored the leadoff hitter with a single to center.

After junior Erick Chandler and freshman Jack Bender spelled Gaggioli and combined to throw four scoreless innings, McLaughlin took matters into his own hands in the bottom of the 11th. The Walnut Creek, Calif. native hit a one-out double and advanced to third on a base hit by senior left hander Derek deGrijs. With the winning run just 90 feet away, Bouchard strode to the plate, armed with instructions from the dugout to bunt.

“Having Mac on third, he’s an outstanding base runner, and having Bouchard at the plate I had my athletes in the position I need them in,” Wilk said of his gutsy call. “I didn’t want to go into the 12th inning. I had had enough, to be honest with you.”

In keeping with the weekend tradition, Bouchard laid down a textbook dribbler to score McLaughlin and seal the Hoyas’ third extra-innings victory of the season.

“I don’t know where we would be without both of them this year,” Wilk said of the McLaughlin-Bouchard tandem. “They have carried our offense this year, and without them on Sunday, we would have been winless.”

Georgetown’s good fortune continued Monday, as McLaughlin was named to the Big East Honor Roll and Wednesday’s upcoming game against Mount St. Mary’s was moved to Povich after 12 inches of snow buried Straw Family Stadium in Emmitsburg, Md. cLaughlin, who is hitting .429 over the past five contests, will look to warm things up with his hot bat as freshman right hander Tim Adleman takes the mound against a Mount St. Mary’s club that is riding a four-game win streak. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.