5/17/2004
Box Scores: Game 1 - Game 2
BETHESDA, Md. ? Georgetown claimed an extra-innings victory over Villanova on Monday afternoon at Shirley Povich Field in the continuation of the teams' rained out game from Saturday night, and the Wildcats won the nine-inning second game as the Hoyas closed out their 2004 season with a 25-30 overall record.
Georgetown's 25 season wins are the most for a Hoya baseball team since 1985, when the team went 27-25. Their 8-17 conference record is the best since 1997, when the team went 8-15.
Down 9-8 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth in game one, Jim Supple (Summit, N.J./ St. Peter?s Prep) doubled down the left field line to score Danny Gronski (Sammamish, Wash./ Skyline) and tie the game.
Gronski later scored the deciding run in the 11th inning, after he singled through the left side of the infield, and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Parker Brooks (Las Vegas, Nev./ Bishop Gorman). Noticing that third base was left uncovered, Gronski rounded second base without stopping on the sacrifice, and forced an errant throw to third to break the 9-9 tie and give the Hoyas the victory.
Michael Lombardi (Brookhaven Hamlet, N.Y./ St. Anthony's) tied a Georgetown single-game record with his five hits when he went 5-for-6, with one RBI, in game one. Brooks and Billy Quinn (Alta Loma, Calif./ Alta Loma) tied the same record earlier this season, when both players went 5-for-6 against Coppin State on April 20. Supple went 4-for-6 with four runs batted in during the first game.
After going 3-for-5 in the second game, Lombardi ended the day 8-for-11, and moved into the team lead in batting average with a .348 mark. He led the team in multiple-hit games this season with 20. In his last at bat in the bottom of the ninth inning of game two, the senior closed out his Georgetown career with a mammoth solo home run to left centerfield. Also providing a nice ending to their time on the Hilltop, senior Tom O?Connor (Philadelphia, Pa./ LaSalle) pitched a scoreless inning in the top of the ninth, striking out the last batter he faced, and Ron Cano (El Segundo, Calif./ El Segundo) beat out a hard grounder up the middle for an infield single.
Lombardi and Brooks were the only Georgetown players with multiple hits in game two, while Villanova had four players in their lineup post multiple hits, including shortstop Brian Trotta, who went 5-for-5, and designated hitter Danny Poydenis, who went 2-for-4 with a home run and four runs batted in. In a slow-moving game, a total of 22 runners reached base through the first three innings, and the two teams combined for 16 walks.
Georgetown's 2004 season has concluded, while Villanova will wrap-up their campaign with a three-game series against Rutgers starting this Friday.
In addition to the five single-game hits by Lombardi, Brooks and Quinn, the Hoyas established four other program records this season. Gronski and Andrew Cleary (Weston, Mass./ Belmont Hill) set the single-season hit-by-pitch record (11), the Hoyas' pitching staff set the single-season strikeout record (340) and Cano moved into the career lead in at bats with 738. The Hoyas also tied the single-game mark for doubles, with seven against Coppin State on April 20, and Thomas Braun (Kindgwood, Texas/ Kingwood) finished one save away from the season record of eight.
