ROCKVILLE, Md. – After being down by one run in the bottom of the ninth, graduate student
Ubaldo Lopez sent everyone home with a walk-off three-run homer, knocking off UMBC, 9-7, at Shirley Povich Field on Tuesday afternoon. The Hoya third baseman became the first player to hit a walk-off home run since Beau Hall against Yale on March 15, 2016.
"An outstanding win for our organization and we did what we needed to do. A lot of guys stepped up, including
Matthew Sapienza who gave us a great start in his first career start. At the end, when you have a senior up there in Lopez, who was struggling, he did what seniors do and delivered a big hit. I'm proud of him, of this team and hope to keep this thing going into tomorrow. " - Head Coach
Edwin Thompson on today's victory.
HOYA HIGHLIGHTS
- Lopez also became the first player to end the game in the ninth since teammate Andrew Bergeron walked off in the team's May 20 game against Butler last season.
- Jake Hyde extended his hitting streak to seven games, smacking his first career home run en route to a 3-for-4 day at the plate with two tallies and an RBI.
- Evan Blum smacked his first homer in a Hoya uniform, going 1-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs.
- Owen Carpellotti logged a pair of RBIs on the afternoon while Adam Dapkewicz and Ethan Stern put forth two-hit performances against the Retrievers.
- Sapienza made his first career start, striking out four in 4.1 innings of work to pick up the no-decision.
- Connor Udell earned his first win, tossing a scoreless top of the ninth with a pair of punchouts.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- After a one-run first for the Retrievers (1-6), Carapellotti responded with a two-run single through the right side to give the Hoyas (4-3) a 2-1 edge.
- Hyde smacked a solo shot over the right field fence in the bottom of the second and took a 3-1 lead.
- In the bottom of the third, Blum drilled a two-run homer to right after a leadoff single by Stern, putting GU ahead by four, 5-1.
- UMBC scored a pair in the top of the fifth, but Bergeron ripped a triple to the left-center gap in the home half, pushing the advantage back to three, 6-3.
- The Retrievers scored a combined four unanswered runs in the seventh and eighth to take a 7-6 lead.
- After Michael Eze worked a one-out walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch, UMBC recorded its second out of the ninth. The Retrievers intentionally walked the hot-hitting Carapellotti and set up Lopez to launch a three-run walk-off homer to right, ending the game with the Hoyas on top, 9-7.
OF NOTE
- With today's victory, Georgetown jumped out to a three-game winning streak for the first time since the 2019 season. The Blue & Gray swept a three-game series against St. John's (04/26-28) before knocking off the same Retrievers (05/01) to win four in a row.
UP NEXT
The Hoyas will look to make it four straight when they hit the road on Wednesday, March 2 to take on Maryland Eastern Shore in Salisbury. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m.