May 13, 2006
Bethesda, Md. - Rutgers scored five runs in the first inning and held off late rallies from Georgetown in the late innings en route to a 9-4 win over the Hoyas in a BIG EAST baseball game played at Shirley Povich Field. Georgetown is now 23-29 overall and 9-14 in the BIG EAST Conference, while Rutgers improves to 26-22-1 overall and 12-11 in conference play. The loss drops the Hoyas into ninth place in the league standings, one game behind South Florida for the eighth and final spot in the BIG EAST Tournament. Leading 9-5, Rutgers scored a run in the seventh and added two more in the eighth to take a 12-5 advantage. The Hoyas rallied in the bottom of the eighth. Sophomore Brandon Davis (Poway, Calif./The Bishop's School) led the inning off with a solo home run and GU loaded the bases up on RU reliever Joe Baione. Sophomore Matt Harrigan (Syracuse, N.Y./CBA) doubled, junior Mark McLaughlin (Walnut Creek, Calif./De La Salle) walked and junior Derek deGrijs (Nashville, Tenn./Goodpasture) was hit by a pitch to load the bases. A single up the middle from senior Timmy Jones (Ledgewood, N.J./Morristown) brought in the second run of the inning, but Baione struck out senior Ryan Craft (Jupiter, Fla./The Benjamin School) on a seven-pitch at-bat to end the threat and the inning. Rutgers reliever Ryan Bradley closed out the Hoyas in the bottom of the ninth to secure the win. The Scarlet Knights had taken advantage of three first inning walks from senior starter Stephen Burns (West Chester, Pa./Malvern Prep) and got a two-run home run from Nick Stavrakis to take a 5-0 lead. After retiring the first batter, Mike Bionde singled and walks to Todd Frazier and Ryan Hill loaded the bases. Burns walked Frank Meade to bring in the first run and appeared to have an inning-ending double play, but a throwing error allowed two runs to score and left a runner on second with two out. Stavrakis hit an 0-1 offering from Burns to right to close out the scoring. Rutgers added single runs in the second and third innings, respectively, to take a 7-0 lead. In the second, Luis Feliz hit a leadoff single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and advanced home on a throwing error. Meade singled with one out in the third, moved to second on a fielder's choice and scored when Stavrakis singled down the right field line to make it 7-0.
The Hoyas scored three runs in the fourth, highlighted by a two-run home run from Harrigan. Senior Drew Dargen (Edmond, Okla./Edmond North) hit a leadoff double and sophomore Matt Bouchard (E. Greenwich, R.I./Bishop Hendricken) plated the team's first run with a double to center. Rutgers starter Sean Spicer recorded the first out of the inning, but Harrigan followed with a blast to right, pulling the Blue and Gray to within four runs, 7-3. A solo home run from Meade in the top of the fifth inning extended RU's lead to 8-3, but the Hoyas brought in another run in the bottom of the inning. deGrijs was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, moved to second on a ground out and then scored when Dargen singled through the right side. Bouchard reached on an error to put runners on second and third, but the Hoyas could not plate another run. The teams traded runs in the sixth, but Rutgers would score one more in the seventh and two more in the eighth as the lead grew to seven runs, 12-5. A solo home run from Frazier gave the Scarlet Knights a 9-4 lead in the top of the sixth. In the bottom of the inning, McLaughlin hit a leadoff single, stole two bases and then scored on a single from Matt Maranges (Miami, Fla./Belen Jesuit Prep). An inning double ended the rally as Rutgers held on to a 9-5 lead. Burns took the loss for the Hoyas, throwing five innings and yielding eight runs (seven earned) on eight hits. He walked four and struck out two batters as he fell to 5-4. Sophomore Grady McConnell (Capistrano, Calif./Capistrano Valley) threw 2.2 innings of relief, yielding four runs, two of them earned. Senior Kevin Lundquist (Oley, Pa./Holmdel) threw two-thirds of an inning, giving up one hit and striking out one. Bouchard went 3-for-5 with two doubles, a run scored and one RBI to pace Georgetown's 12-hit attack. Harrigan hit a double, home run, scored twice and drove in two runs. Georgetown will close out its three-game series with Rutgers on Sunday, May 14. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. |
 
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