Box Score WASHINGTON – The Georgetown University baseball team fell to Grand Canyon 5-2 in the Hoyas first game of the MLB Desert Invitational hosted by MLB Network. GU will face Cal Berkeley tomorrow, February 17 with first pitch slated for 1 p.m. MST.
 
 
ON THE RECORD
"Congrats to Grand Canyon, that was an unbelievable atmosphere with over 5,000 people on a Friday night, that was a great environment to play in. Obviously, we came out on the losing end, but I am really proud of how our guys came out of the box against one of the best pitchers in the country. We were able to get a lead but couldn't hold it and do the things we needed to do. Tonight, I thought Marcello Mastroianni was great for us in his first college outing going four and two-thirds innings with five strikeouts really neutralized their offense. I thought we scored a little bit too late, and we left too many guys on base and that had a lot to do with their guy who came out of the bullpen who had seven strikeouts in three innings as a freshman. They had a great one two punch with their two guys but there are no excuses, and we need to find a way to get more runs, but they didn't walk us either and that had a lot to do with it. They did a great job and played good defense and that is why they have one their conference three years in a row. It was good for us to have some growth and we will be ready to go again tomorrow against a tough Cal team." – Head Coach Edwin Thompson
 
HOYA HIGHLIGHTS

• Derek Smith went 1-for-4 with a double and a run scored.
• Jake Hyde was 2-for-4 at the plate with a double and an RBI.
• Owen Carapellotti went 1-for-3 with a single and a walk.
• Michael Eze went 1-for-4 with a double.
• Christian Ficca went 1-for-4 with an RBI double.
• Ashtin Gilio went 1-for-1 at the plate recording his first collegiate hit.
• Marcello Mastroianni recorded five strikeouts in his collegiate debut.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Smith hit a leadoff double in his first plate appearance of the game. Hyde stepped up to the plate and laced another double to right center field bringing home Smith which gave GU the early 1-0 lead.
• In the bottom half of the first, GCU was able to get runners on second and third with one out. Zach Yorke stepped up to the plate and hit a home run deep to right field giving GCU a 3-1 lead.
• After a scoreless second, GCU added another run on an RBI single to right field giving the Lopes a 4-1 advantage.
• The fourth and fifth innings were scoreless for both sides as Mastroianni recorded his first two collegiate strikeouts in the bottom of the fifth inning.
• In the bottom of the sixth, the Lopes had a runner on third and laid down a sacrifice bunt bringing the runner home and extended the GCU advantage to four.
• The seventh and eighth frames were scoreless for both sides as Mastroianni began to find his stride on the mound.
• In the top of the ninth Ficca hit a double to right center scoring Eze who was on second cutting the Lopes advantage to three.
• GU was unable to overcome the deficit in the final inning dropping game one of the season 5-2.

 
OF NOTE

• Mastroianni made his collegiate debut in relief of Carson Frye.
• Hyde and Carapellotti have now recorded a hit in back-to-back season openers.
• Smith recorded his first hit as a Hoya in his first plate appearance.
• Gilio made his collegiate debut and recorded a hit.
• The Hoyas tallied four doubles on the day.
• GU recorded seven strikeouts on the day.

 
UP NEXT
Georgetown will face Cal Berkeley tomorrow with first pitch coming at 1 p.m. MST at Salt River Fields. The game will be played at Salt River fields and a link to live stats and a live stream will be available on GUHoyas.com.