Feb. 18, 2016 WASHINGTON - The Georgetown University baseball team travels south this weekend as it opens the 2016 season at the Wake Forest Invitational in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The Hoyas will play the host Demon Deacons in the season opener on Friday at 6 p.m. GU will also play Virginia Military Institute (VMI) on Saturday at noon and the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) on Sunday at 10 a.m.
Live stats for all three games can be found at guhoyas.com.
The Blue & Gray is coming off of a memorable 2015 season. The Hoyas won 25 games and qualified for the BIG EAST Championships for the first time since 1986. Georgetown had a program-record four players selected to All-BIG EAST Teams, highlighted by
Nick Collins, who was the program's first-ever BIG EAST Player of the Year and selected to the first team at both catcher and designated hitter.
Matt Smith (Cranberry Twp., Pa./Seneca Valley) was also named to the All-BIG EAST First Team, while
Ryan Busch and
David Ellingson (The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands College Park) were both second team selections.
Georgetown's strength this season will lie in its pitching staff. The Hoyas return two of its three starting pitchers from last season, and return all but one member of its bullpen. As a staff last year, GU's pitchers set a program record with a 3.95 team ERA, lowering the mark by more than a point from the 2014 season. Under new pitching coach Alex Swenson, the Hoyas will look to continue its success.
Offensively, the Blue & Gray and first year hitting coach Ryan Wood will look to replace three mainstays from the middle of the lineup. Nick Collins (.370 average, 7 home runs and 36 RBI) was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the eighth round of the major league draft and left Georgetown early, while Ryan Busch (.276 average, 6 home runs, 27 RBI) and AC Carter (.316 average, 4 home runs, 42 RBI) both graduated. However, the Hoyas return eight position players who saw action in at least 30 games last season, as well as a healthy influx of freshmen that should offer a formidable lineup.
Wake Forest is coming off of a 27-26 campaign in 2015. The Demon Deacons return eight position players who started at least 25 games a season ago, led by junior Will Craig who finished with a .382 batting average with 13 home runs, 20 doubles and 58 RBI. He was named the ACC Player of the Year and a National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) First Team All-American. Wake Forest returns arguably its best pitcher, Parker Dunshee, who will start against the Hoyas on Friday. Dunshee, who spent time as both a reliever and starter last season, led the Demon Deacons with a 2.89 ERA and four saves while registering a 5-3 record and 74 strikeouts in 71.2 innings pitched.
VMI finished with a 21-30 record last season, but lost its top five hitters from 2015. Third baseman David Geary is the top returner among position players after playing in all 50 games last season, batting .285 with three home runs and 29 RBI. The Keydets project to have a strong bullpen, led by closer Taylor Edens who finished last season with a 4.93 ERA and 12 saves, the second most in program history, in 29 appearances.
UMBC went 34-20 last season, a 17-game turnaround from 2014, and advanced to the program's first-ever America East Tournament before falling in the championship game. The Retrievers return six of eight starting position players from last year, headlined by all-conference first team selection Anthony Gatto and Kevin Lachance, who stole 29 bases in 2015. UMBC also returns its entire starting pitching staff, led by reigning America East Pitcher of the Year, Conrad Wozniak.
Probable Pitching Matchups … Friday (6 p.m.) Wake Forest: RHP Parker Dunshee ââ'¬" 5-3, 2.89 ERA (2015) Georgetown: RHP Matt Smith ââ'¬" 4-5, 2.80 ERA (2015)
Saturday (noon) VMI: RHP Matthew Eagle ââ'¬" 0-5, 5.67 ERA (2015) Georgetown: RHP Simon Mathews (West Haven, Conn./Hopkins School) ââ'¬" 5-4, 3.57 ERA (2015)
Sunday (10 a.m.) UMBC: RHP Riley Stephenson ââ'¬" 2-7, 6.44 ERA (2014) Georgetown: RHP Kevin Superko (Wellesley, Mass./Wellesley/Phillips Andover) ââ'¬" 3-2, 3.65 ERA (2015)
