Weekend series recap: Georgetown at Villanova

Georgetown entered last weekend having dropped two of three against conference powerhouse Creighton in its first conference series the previous week, while hoping to use a 10-4 mashing of Coppin State on Tuesday as a launch pad to a big series against Villanova.

Meanwhile, the Wildcats had a chance to make a strong first impression to the Big East season, as the series with the Hoyas was their first in league play. Here's how the weekend turned out for each squad.

Game One: Georgetown 9, Villanova 3

The Hoyas' bats stayed red hot after putting up a 10-spot against Coppin State. It started quickly, as the Hoyas put up four runs in the first inning off of RBI knocks from Nick Collins, Chase Bushor and Ryan Busch. Bushor now has 26 RBI this season, which is tied for the most in the conference.

The hits and runs just kept coming, as Georgetown enjoyed a 9-0 lead before the third inning had even finished. The biggest blow of the early-inning fireworks came courtesy of the normally light-hitting Beau Hall. With runners on first and second, Hall launched a bomb into left field for a three-run home run, his first of the season. The three RBI almost doubled his season total as well.

On the pitching side of things, workhorse Mat Hollenbeck earned his second win of the season for Georgetown, scattering eight hits and three runs (one earned) over 6 2/3 innings of work. Tim Davis came in to do the rest, pitching 2 1/3 shutout innings, extending his scoreless inning streak to 12. Davis would improve that mark to 14 2/3 innings with 2 2/3 innings of scoreless work in Sunday's finale.

Eric Lowe did his best to help Villanova, going a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with a run scored. However, Josh Harris' disastrous start (2 1/3 innings, eight hits, nine earned runs) made it tough for the 'Cats to have much of a chance.

Game Two: Georgetown 6, Villanova 4

This was a much more competitive game than Friday's opener. Villanova was sunk by an inability to stop Georgetown in the later innings, as the Hoyas scored three in the second and added one and two in the eighth and ninth to give themselves enough of a cushion.

Carter, hitting in his traditional cleanup position, slashed three singles and walked once in four plate appearances. However, he did not score or drive in any runs. Hall went 2-for-4 with a triple and scored a pair of runs, but he did strike out in his two at bats that did not yield hits. The Hoyas were actually out-hit by Villanova (12-10), but two errors from the home team led to a pair of unearned runs, which proved to be the difference. The miscues were out of character for the 'Cats, who have only committed 33 errors this season, third fewest in the Big East.

Matt Smith (5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 SO) was left with a no decision after putting together a solid start for Georgetown, with the win going to Simon Mathews (4-3). David Ellingson slammed the door in the ninth with a pair of strikeouts in a scoreless outing, collecting his sixth save in the process.

Adam Goss and Todd Czinge each had two hits for the Wildcats, as did Emmanuel Harris, while Max Beermann launched a double, the only extra-base hit of the game for the 'Cats, who left eight runners on base.

Game Three: Villanova 6, Georgetown 5

After disappointment in games one and two, Villanova salvaged the weekend a bit with a 6-5 escape job on Sunday. Doubles ruled the day, as the 'Cats swatted a program record-tying eight two-baggers, with Czinege responsible for three of those. Czinege also drove in two runs, as did cleanup hitter Max Beermann, who has reached safely in 18 straight games.

Stater Ryan Doty got the win, despite laboring through 6 2/3 innings in which he allowed five runs on six hits and three walks. Chris Haggarty came in in the eighth and escaped with the save by striking out Eric Webber with two outs and a runner on first.

Collins and Carter both went 2-for-4 with four RBI for the Hoyas in the loss, but the rest of the team went a combined 4-for-24 with a single RBI.

With the weekend now in the books, Georgetown sits at 16-15 overall and 3-3 in Big East play, while the Wildcats are 13-17 with a 1-2 mark in conference action.