WASHINGTON – The Georgetown University baseball team opens its 2019 season this Friday, Feb. 15, when it takes on Illinois in a neutral-site game in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The game is part of the Wake Forest Invitational and the Hoyas will play Sacred Heart on Saturday, Feb. 16 before closing out the weekend against the host Demon Deacons on Sunday, Feb. 17.
 
As the Blue & Gray prepares for the 2019 season, GUHoyas.com will take an in-depth look at each of the team's position groups, with this edition featuring the pitching staff.
 
The Hoyas lost several key arms in the bullpen due to graduation including Jimmy Swad (MSB'18), who recorded a program-record 12 saves in 2018, and Kevin Superko (MSB'18) who logged more than 200 career innings in 57 appearances, including 37 starts. Despite these losses, the Blue & Gray returns a strong nucleus on the mound, including all three weekend starters, and has a talented group of newcomers who will look to make an immediate impact.
 
Georgetown's starting rotation will feature a trio of juniors who all bring a wealth of experience. Classmates Jeremiah Burke (Delmar, N.Y. / Bethlehem Central / La Salle Institute), Brent Killam (Nokomis, Fla. / Venice) and Nick Morreale (Lake Elmo, Minn. / St. Thomas Academy / IMG Academy) all return after combining for 11 wins, 179 strikeouts and more than 150 innings pitched last season.
 
Burke joined the starting rotation during BIG EAST play and finished with a 3-2, 3.89 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 39.1 innings over 10 appearances and six starts. Killam was an All-BIG EAST Second Team selection as a sophomore in 2018. He set a Georgetown record with 97 strikeouts and finished with a 6-4 record and a 3.06 ERA in a team-high 82.1 innings pitched. Morreale was a key part of GU's bullpen last season, recording a 2-5 record with 59 strikeouts and a 4.69 ERA in 21 appearances covering 48.0 innings pitched.

Killam and Morreale each pitched in the prestigious Cape Cod League over the summer. In 10 appearances out of the Falmouth Commodores' bullpen, Killam finished with a 3.43 ERA in 18.1 innings pitched, recording 22 strikeouts. Morreale pitched for the Bourne Braves and made a team-high 14 relief appearances. He struck out 33 in 21.1 innings, recording a 2.95 ERA. His ERA was a stingy 1.53 before a couple of tough outings to end the summer. Earlier this month, both Morreale (108) and Killam (297) were named to D1Baseball.com's Top 350 College Prospects list.

Senior Jack Cushing (Flower Mound, Texas / Marcus High School) will serve as one of Georgetown's midweek starters, while also pitching out of the bullpen on weekends. Cushing finished 2018 with a 2-6 record, a 6.79 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 63.2 innings pitched. Freshman Carter Bosch (McLean, Va. / Potomac), will also play a similar role in his first year on the Hilltop. Bosch pitched for the Alexandria Aces in the Cal Ripken League over the summer going 3-1 in seven starts and leading the team with a 1.32 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 34.0 innings pitched. He earned a selection to the midseason all-star game.
 
In the bullpen, sophomore Owen Lamon (Herndon, Va. / Oakton) will move from the starting rotation into a late-inning role. As a freshman, Lamon registered a 5-3 record with a 7.11 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 63.1 innings. His classmate Jacob Grzebinski (Bellaire, Texas / Emery Weiner) will also take on an added role in his second year in a Hoya uniform. In 2018, he went 3-1 with a 7.16 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 32.2 innings. Senior Noah Clark (Dallas, Texas / Trinity Christian Academy) will look for a successful return to the mound after missing last season due to injury and freshman Angelo Tonas (Hillsborough, Calif. / Sacred Heart Prep) will be relied upon as a left-handed specialist.
 
The Hoyas have three other freshman pitchers who will look to make an immediate impact. Right-handers Miller Freeman (Nashville, Tenn. / Montgomery Bell Academy) and Anthony Redfern (Andover, Mass. / Phillips Andover), as well as lefty Jack Weeks (Reston, Va. / Paul VI) will all compete for roles in their first seasons on the Hilltop.
 
Georgetown is coming off a 2018 season that saw it finish with an overall record of 25-30, going 25-20 after dropping the first 10 games of the year to earn the program's fourth-consecutive 25-win season and the fifth in the past six years. The Hoyas went 8-9 in BIG EAST play, qualifying for their first conference tournament since 2015 and just the second since 1986.