WASHINGTON – The Georgetown University baseball team opens its 2019 season on 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 infield.
 
Georgetown lost a pair of valuable infielders due to graduation in first baseman Alex Bernauer (MSB'18) and second baseman Jake Bernstein (MSB'18), but do return five players who combined for 179 starts last season. That experience, along with the return of two players from injury and six members of the freshman class will provide the Hoyas with a lot of depth.
 
Junior captain Freddy Achecar III (Atlanta, Ga. / Lovett School) will take over the reins at first base this season after starting 29 games at both first base and designated hitter in 2018. As a sophomore, Achecar batted .183 (20 for 189) with five doubles and eight RBIs, while scoring 15 runs. In 151 total chances at first base, he did not make a single error. Junior Will Salomon (Greenwich, Conn. / Brunswick), who reached base in two of his four plate appearances last year, and sophomore Alex Gamache (Lake Forest, Ill. / Lake Forest Academy), who had two hits in his five at-bats in 2018, will both provide depth behind Achecar. Additionally freshmen Chase Walter (Winston-Salem, N.C. / Forsyth Country Day School) and Michael Willis (Baltimore, Md. / Gilman) will both look for playing time at first base. 
 
At second base, senior captain Ryan Weisenberg (Parkland, Fla. / San Ramon Valley [Calif.]) will make the transition from third base in his final season. Weisenberg played in 50 games in 2018 with 48 starts at third base, compiling a .259 (43 for 166) batting average with seven doubles, 20 RBIs and 23 runs scored. He is Georgetown's active leader in home runs with 10. Sophomore Yareb Martinez (Aldie, Va. / John Champe), who missed all but one game of last season with a shoulder injury, will return and challenge Weisenberg for playing time at second base. Freshman Nolan Matsko (Baltimore, Md. / Dulaney) will also provide depth and look to crack the lineup.
 
Sophomore Eddie McCabe (Norwalk, Conn. / Norwalk) was a mainstay for the Hoyas as a freshman in 2018, starting all 55 games at shortstop while hitting in the middle of the lineup. He ranked fourth on the team with a .297 (62 for 209) batting average, led the Hoyas with 36 RBIs and tied for the team lead with 12 doubles. McCabe also added two home runs, three triples and was third on the team with 29 runs scored. Behind McCabe, Martinez will again provide depth as well as freshman Alex Rosen (Newport Beach, Calif. / Corona Del Mar).
 
At third base, junior John Simourian (Andover, Mass. / Phillips Andover) returns from an injury-plagued 2018 that saw him only play 18 games. He batted .171 (7 for 41) with two RBIs and four runs scored before seeing his season end early. Weisenberg, who started 48 games at third base last year, will be available to spell Simourian if needed while Martinez and Walter will both provide solid depth at the hot corner.
 
Behind the plate, the Hoyas return their primary catcher from last season in sophomore Ryan P. Davis (Oak Hill, Va. / Oakton) who led the team with a .311 (42 for 135) batting average as a freshman. He finished with two home runs, eight doubles, 16 RBIs and 19 runs scored. Freshman Tony Barreca (Long Grove, Iowa / North Scott) will compete with Davis for playing time and should start one game on the weekends to begin the year. Additionally, Gamache and freshman Matt Stone (Westport, Conn / Staples) will look for playing time.
 
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.