Ruthie Braunstein/The Hoya Jason Boice reached base six out of 13 plate appearances this weekend against UConn.
The Georgetown baseball team dusted off the cobwebs, removed the decaying brooms from the closet and swept a three-game series against Big East rival University of Connecticut this weekend at Shirley Povich Field in Bethesda, Md. In the process, the Hoyas accomplished two feats not achieved since the late 1990s.
On Saturday, with many of the players’ parents in town for a team cookout, the Hoyas (13-32, 6-14 Big East) defeated the Huskies 6-3 and 5-2, marking the first time Georgetown has won both games of a conference doubleheader since April 27, 1997 when it beat former Big East foe Providence.
On Sunday, the Hoyas completed the weekend whitewash with a 4-2 victory. The last time Georgetown took a weekend series from a Big East opponent was March 25 to 26, 1995 also over Connecticut, when the Hoyas posted 10-9, 4-3 and 8-4 victories.
With the three Big East wins, the Hoyas no longer lie in the conference’s basement, having moved ahead of Boston College and Pittsburgh into ninth place.
Georgetown also jeopardized the Huskies’ chances of making the Big East Tournament next month. Only the top four teams in the league make the post season, and UConn is now two games behind Seton Hall for the fourth spot with only six games remaining. Three of those are against Notre Dame, which is ranked No. 2 in the Baseball America Top 25.
Georgetown’s success in all three games started on the mound. Senior Matt Arizin, freshman Kevin Field and junior Eric Sutton all pitched exceptionally in earning victories, while junior Tony Pina saved two games en route to being named Co-Big East Pitcher of the Week.
In addition to his two saves, Pina earned the win in the Hoyas’ 3-2 victory over Navy last Thursday. For the week, he threw 6.2 innings, allowed no runs on three hits and struck out five.
“It all feeds off the pitching,” Georgetown Head Coach Peter Wilk said. “The pitchers got us off our feet. They put the ball over the plate and worked with a good tempo.”
Although he struggled with his control, walking six batters, Arizin (3-5) threw 5 1/3 innings and gave up only three runs on five hits in game one on Saturday.
After he allowed a run in the first, the Hoya bats went to work, scoring five times on five hits. Sophomore lead-off hitter Jason Boice, who reached base six out of 13 plate appearance on the weekend, was hit by a pitch to start the rally.
“He was the catalyst for the offense,” Wilk said.
Junior second baseman Mike Green sacrificed Boice to second and senior center fielder Jim Vankoski doubled him home for the first run. Senior first baseman Eric Santana singled and sophomore designated hitter Robert O’Hare lined a RBI double to left Freshman third baseman Ron Cano then singled to right, scoring Santana and O’Hare. Freshman catcher Michael Lombardi hit the Hoyas’ third double of the inning before senior shortstop Jay Catalano knocked in Cano with a sacrifice fly for the Hoyas’ fifth run.
In the sixth, Vankoski, who went 5 for 10 with four RBI and two runs scored over the three games, hit a line drive shot to dead center that cleared the 370-foot mark for his first homerun and Georgetown’s eighth of the season.
Pina threw an 1 1/3 innings for the save.
The Hoyas carried the momentum from their first victory into Saturday’s second game, with Field (2-3) throwing eight innings of two-run, six-hit ball before yielding to Pina who recorded his fifth save of the season.
Just in case Georgetown lacked the fire to win two in a row, UConn’s starting pitcher, Patrick Sperone, provided the fire the Hoyas would need to beat the Huskies.
Throughout Sperone’s 6 1/3 innings, he taunted Georgetown players with disparaging and unsportsmanlike comments. He screamed at his strike out victims, “You suck,” and yelled, “You’re not scoring,” in the middle of a play on which two Hoyas crossed the plate.
“It was the worst display of sportsmanship I’ve seen at this level in 12 years,” Wilk said. “He was a jerk.”
Georgetown knocked Sperone out of the game after he allowed five runs, all earned, on nine hits. He struck out four, walked three and suffered the loss.
“It’s particularly gratifying to beat him,” Wilk said.
Boice went two for five with two runs, Green hit three for four with two RBI and a run and senior right fielder Marc Carlini went two for four with a run.
Carlini went 6 for 11 over the weekend.
On Sunday, Sutton (2-6) pitched his first complete game of the year, earning only his second victory in eight decisions. He allowed two runs on five hits, struck out six and walked no one.
Vankoski collected three hits and drove home two, as the Hoyas rallied from a 2-0 deficit halfway through the game. They scored one in the fifth, two in the seventh and one in the eighth to win 4-2.
After Sunday’s win, the Connecticut coach approached the Georgetown players and congratulated them on their hard work, telling them they deserved every single one their three victories.
“I think we took a step forward for the program,” Wilk said. “We all pulled together. It was one of those [weekends] where nobody wanted to leave the field after Sunday.”
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