Box Score WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Villanova baseball team opened the month of May with an 11-7 win over BIG EAST rival Georgetown on the road in game one of a three-game series.
Georgetown struck first in the opening inning, using a leadoff single and a wild pitch to set up an RBI single through the left side for a 1-0 lead.
Villanova responded in the second. Sophomore
John Freitag drew a walk and redshirt sophomore
Mark Gialluisi doubled to put two runners in scoring position. Graduate student
Carter Richey brought home the tying run with a sacrifice fly to right field, evening the score at 1-1.
The Hoyas answered in the bottom half of the inning. After putting two runners on base, Georgetown launched a three-run home run to left field to take a 4-1 advantage.
The Wildcats chipped away in the third. Sophomore
JoJo Montgomery led off with a double and later scored on a pitcher's error. Senior
Michael Whooley added a sacrifice fly to bring Villanova within one at 4-3.
Georgetown extended its lead to 5-3 in the fifth with an RBI single to left field. Both teams were then held scoreless over the next stretch, with junior
Jake Francis delivering four shutout innings in relief to keep Villanova within striking distance.
Montgomery sparked the offense again in the seventh, leading off with a solo home run to left-center—his third of the season—to cut the deficit to 5-4. Georgetown quickly responded with two runs in the bottom of the inning on a two-out RBI double and an RBI triple, pushing its lead to 7-4.
Villanova mounted a comeback in the eighth. Montgomery drove in a run with an RBI single before Leonard delivered a clutch two-run double to tie the game at 7-7.
The Wildcats took control in the ninth. Whooley opened the inning with a solo home run to give Villanova its first lead of the game at 8-7. Freshman Larry Hotaing followed with a triple and scored on a wild pitch to extend the lead. Montgomery added his third RBI of the day with a single to left, and Leonard capped the scoring with an RBI single through the right side.
Senior
Graham Moore closed out the game, tossing the final two innings and earning the win while striking out five.
UP NEXT
Villanova continues the series against Georgetown tomorrow, with first pitch scheduled for 3:05 p.m.