PITTSBURGH (March 25) - Georgetown surrendered two games to Pittsburgh in BIG EAST baseball action at Trees Field on March 25. The Hoyas lost game one 5-3 and fell in game two by 5-2 score.
The Panthers jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead assisted by third baseman Joe Lydic's three RBI home run in the second. Georgetown responded as catcher Pat Wade (Jr., Philadelphia, Pa./Germantown) grounded out to the pitcher in the fourth to score first baseman Eric Sutton (So., Deerfield Beach, Fla./Deerfield Beach) and pitcher Jim Vankoski (Jr., Aston, Pa./Strath Haven) homered in the fifth to trim the lead to 4-2. Pittsburgh increased its margin by one when designated hitter Brad Rea put one over the left field wall in the bottom of the fifth. GU attempted to rally but with bases loaded and two outs in the seventh, GU shortstop Matthew Carullo (Fr., Oakton, Va./Paul VI) grounded out to the second baseman for the 5-2 Panther victory.
Vankoski went six innings on the mound for the Hoyas allowing five runs off eight hits with four strikeouts. Pittsburgh's Jory Coughenour got the win. GU stranded 10 men on base in the game compared the Panthers' three.
Pittsburgh notched runs in the first, third and fifth innings to open up game two. First baseman Eric Santana (Jr., Santurce, P.R./Edgewood) hit into an RBI fielder's choice to score second baseman Josh Corman (Sr., Lexington, Ky./Lafayette) and Vankoski crossed the plate off an error to allow Georgetown to trim the Panther advantage to 3-2 in the sixth inning. Pittsburgh added two insurance runs in the eighth off a triple by the catcher to take a 5-2 advantage, and held off the Hoya attack in the ninth for the victory.
Junior hurler Matt Arizin (Philadelphia, Pa./Penn Charter) pitched 7-1/3 innings for GU allowing five runs off five hits with seven strikeouts for the loss. Matt Irvin registered the win for Pittsburgh.
Georgetown moves to 10-18 overall and 0-5 in the BIG EAST, while Pittsburgh goes to 15-8 and 3-2 in league play. The final contest of the three-game series is on Sunday beginning at 12:00 noon at Trees Field.
