May 15, 2001
Pete Wilk, after serving as assistant coach for two seasons, concluded his second season as head coach of the Hoyas baseball team in 2001. The Hoyas ended the year with a 17-39 record and a 10th-place finish in the conference with a 7-19 mark. The seven BIG EAST wins marks the fourth-best total in Hoya history and the best mark since 1997. In addition, Georgetown swept the University of Connecticut in a three-game weekend series on April 21-22, completing the Hoyas' first three-game sweep in league play since 1995.
Offensively the Hoyas were led by senior center fielder Jim Vankoski, senior right fielder Marc Carlini and sophomore left fielder Jason Boice. Vankoski led the team with 32 runs batted in and tied for the team lead in triples (2), homeruns (3), and stolen bases (11). Carlini led the Hoyas with a .342 average and ended his collegiate career with a 19-game hitting streak, the longest such streak in recent Georgetown history. Boice scored 50 times in 2001, just nine short of Georgetown's All-Time individual season high set in 1983, and also posted team highs in hits (54), doubles (18), triples (2), homeruns (3), and total bases (85).
Freshman catcher Michael Lombardi played in 53 games this season while starting 46. Lombardi batted .301 (46-for-153) this year with one homerun and 15 RBIs and was second on the team with 12 doubles. Senior Eric Santana, junior Mike Green, freshman Ron Cano, and senior Jay Catalano solidified the infield. Santana, the first baseman, batted .289 (48-for-166) with a homerun and 22 RBIs in 51 games (47 starts). Second baseman Green led the Hoyas with six sacrifice bunts en route to a .274 (31-for-113) average. Cano, a utility infielder who combined for a team-high 51 starts at short (24) and third (27), tied for the team lead with three homeruns and tied for second on the team with 30 runs scored. He finished the season batting .273 (48-for-176) with 11 doubles and 70 total bases. Catalano played in 40 games starting 22 games at shortstop while batting .330 (33-100), good for second on the team. Sophomore infielder Tony Lee, who also plays on the Hoyas football team, also made significant contributions starting 27 of 41 games played picking up 10 RBIs and scoring 14 times.
The Hoyas also look forward to having freshman centerfielder/shortstop Carlos Gazitua back on the field next year. Gazitua led Georgetown's offense in nearly all statistical categories through the first quarter of the season before suffering an injury that cost him most of the year. He finished his rookie campaign batting .328 (20-for-61) with a homerun, a triple, five doubles, and 20 RBIs in 22 games (16 starts).
Left-handed senior pitcher Matt Arizin posted three wins on the mound, while pitching two complete games and limiting opponents to a .263 batting average. Freshman right-handed pitcher Kevin Field tallied a team-leading 46 strikeouts and also recorded three wins. Field's complete-game six-hit 9-0 victory over West Virginia on May 5th was the first shutout in conference play for the Hoyas since 1996. Junior reliever Tony Pina led the team with five saves, while fanning 39 in 42.1 innings. Pina also was awarded BIG EAST Player of the Week from April 16-22 becoming the first Georgetown player to win the honor since 1998.
Junior Eric Sutton and senior Randy Erwin were main stays in the five-man rotation while Vankoski, sophomore Patrick Salvitti and junior Paul Perillo rotated in to the five slot. Sutton, a left-hander, started a team-high 12 games and struck out 39 en route to two wins. Erwin posted a team-best .429 win-loss percentage (3-4) and struck out 39 batters. Vankoski, also the teams starting centerfielder, tossed 43.2 innings in five starts posting a 3-5 record while striking out 22. Salvitti struck out 20 and won one in five starts while Perillo fanned 13 and picked up a win in four starts.
