March 24, 2010

Box Score

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BETHESDA, Md. - Sophomore right-hander Bobby Kirby (Bel Air, Md./Loyola Blakefield) threw six scoreless innings and Georgetown scored three runs in the fourth inning and added two more in the seventh en route to a 5-2 win over Navy on a sunny afternoon at Shirley Povich Field. It was the third-straight win for the Hoyas, and the sixth in the last eight games, who improve to 12-8 overall, while the Midshipmen fall to 15-6.

Kirby was solid from the start, retiring the first eight batters he faced before Navy's Dylan Wheeler hit a two-out single through the left side in the third. Kirby retired the final batter of the inning.

In the fourth, he gave up a one-out triple to Alex Azor and Michael Speciale reached on a throwing error from junior third baseman Sean Lamont (Houston, Texas/Bellaire), who was able to keep Azor on base and prevent Navy from taking the lead. Kirby then induced an infield pop out and a fly out to center to get out of the jam.

The Hoyas then jumped on Navy starter Johnny Schoberl for three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Junior catcher Erick Fernandez (Hialeah, Fla./Hialeah) hit a leadoff double to the wall in left and moved to third on a single from Lamont. Senior left fielder Billy Cupelo (Franklin, Mass./Bishop Feehan) then reached on a fielder's choice after hitting a sharp ground ball up the middle that allowed Lamont to advance to second and bought in Fernandez with the first run.

A passed ball allowed Lamont and Cupelo to move to second and third and a single to left from senior shortstop Tommy Elliott (Blue Bell, Pa./St. Joseph's Prep) brought in Lamont with the second run. After Elliott was caught stealing for the first out of the inning, senior second baseman Chip Malt (Boston, Mass./Buckingham, Browne & Nichols) hit a long fly ball to center, bringing in Cupelo and giving the Hoyas a 3-0 lead.

Kirby, meanwhile, continued a solid outing on the mound, retiring the side in order to make it five-straight outs. He took the mound in the top of the sixth and induced a ground ball to short for his sixth-straight out. Back-to-back singles from Matthew Curley and Azor put runners on first and second with one out. Kirby, however, caught Curley stealing at third and struck out the final batter of the inning looking to end the threat.

The Hoyas had two runners on with one out in the sixth after singles from Fernandez and Cupelo, but could not increase the margin. They did so in the seventh, as senior Andy Lentz (Farmington Hills, Mich./Brother Rice) chased Schoberl with a leadoff double to left. Senior centerfielder Tommy Lee (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) then reached base on a bunt single, but a throwing error allowed him to move to second and Lentz to score as GU increased its lead to 4-0. Junior Dan Godefroi (Andover, Mass./Andover) moved Lee to third with a sacrifice bunt and a fly ball to center from junior first baseman Dan Capeless (Centreville, Mass./Boston College H.S.) pushed Lee in as the Hoyas took a 5-0 lead.

Junior reliever Pablo Vinent (Miami, Fla./Belen Jesuit) took over for Kirby in the seventh and struck out two batters in one inning. Junior Jared Cohen (Phoenixville, Pa./The Haverford School) threw the eighth inning, allowing one hit with one walk. Freshman Neal Dennison (Houston, Texas/Lamar) gave up a two-run home run with two outs in the ninth inning, but struck out two batters to close out the game.

The Hoya pitching staff finished the day allowing two runs on seven hits with three walks and seven strikeouts. Kirby led the way, throwing 6.0 innings and giving up no runs on four hits with no walks and three strikeouts.

Lee finished the day 2-for-3 with two singles and two stolen bases, while Fernandez finished the day 2-for-4 with a double, single and a run scored, while Cupelo went 2-for-4 with two singles, a run scored and one RBI.

Georgetown continues its home stand this weekend, beginning BIG EAST Conference play with a three-game series against Rutgers on Friday, March 26. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m. at Shirley Povich Field. Live stats will be available through the Georgetown Athletics website, www.guhoyas.com.