MASON, Ohio – In the second semifinal matchup of the 2024 BIG EAST Baseball Championship Presented by JEEP, No. 3 seed Georgetown locked up its spot in the BIG EAST championship game with a, 9-6, win over No. 4 seed Xavier Friday afternoon at Prasco Park.
 
For the first time in program history, Georgetown is set to compete in the BIG EAST Championship game and will take on No. 2 seed St. John’s Saturday at Noon ET on FS1. If Georgetown wins, a rubber match is slated for 3:30 p.m. on FS2.
 
St. John’s earned its spot Thursday night and enters Saturday’s contest with a 2-0 mark in the tournament. The Red Storm are back in the title game for the first time since 2018, when the Johnnies captured the ninth crown in program history.
 
Sarting the game off hot, Xavier designated hitter Isaac Wachsmann stepped up to the plate with two outs and a full count before blasting a shot to deep left center to place the Musketeers in front 1-0 in the top of the first.
 
Matching the opening inning run, Georgetown’s Jake Hyde grounded out to allow lead-off hitter Owen Carapellotti to tie the game at 1-1.
 
Both defenses stepped up in the next two innings of scoreless baseball, prior to the Musketeers regaining the lead in the top of the fourth.
 
With the bases loaded, Grant Stephenson was disciplined at the plate watching six pitches without swinging resulting in a walk and a 2-1 lead for the Musketeers. On the very next at bat, Aedan Anderson was walked to score another free run for Xavier prior to Georgetown’s Kai Leckszas earning relief duty and closing out the inning with a strikeout.
 
Overall, the Musketeers got on base with a single, a hit by pitch and three walks consecutively to take the 3-1 lead midway through the fourth.
 
The Hoyas got their chance in the bottom of the sixth in similar fashion, collecting just one hit, but two runs scored following a hit by pitch and a walk resulting in a 3-3 tie.
 
Georgetown added three runs in the bottom of the seventh on three hits, beginning with Jake Hyde singling and sending Christian Ficca home for a 4-3 lead. Shortly after, Josh Rolling’s first hit of the tournament was a massive one, as the senior second baseman singled to left field and collected a pair of rbi, with Castillo and Kavi Caster both scoring to give Georgetown a 6-3 advantage.
 
The Musketeers were not done yet though, with Matt McCormick collecting a two-run homer, with Jared Cushing scoring, as Xavier pulled within one, 6-5, in the top of the eighth. Two batters later, Luke Hammond unloaded a shot to deep left field to tie the game at 6-6.
 
In the bottom of the eighth, Rolling was back up to bat for the Hoyas and remained hot with a triple to right center that resulted in three runs and a 9-6 lead, with Andrew Bergeron, Castillo and Hyde each scoring.