BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The first game could not have gone much worse for the Geneva College baseball team in the opening game of a doubleheader against Grove City College on Saturday, with the Golden Tornadoes getting shut down, 11-0.  To Geneva's credit, it fought back and won game two, 6-3, earning a split on the afternoon.  Geneva's record is now 17-6, 6-4 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Grove City's record now stands at 11-11, 5-3 in the PAC.

In game one, freshman pitcher Jacob Cardenas, who has been so strong all season and came into the came with the lowest ERA in the PAC, struggled with his command.  Grove City took advantage by scoring five runs in the first inning, aided by two walks and two hit batters.  Cardenas ended up getting pulled with one out in the second after back-to-back walks.

Grove City continued to score against the Geneva relievers, with another run in third and five more in the fourth.  The Golden Tornadoes were their own worst enemy in the game, as Geneva pitchers issued five walks, five hit batters, and the defense committed four errors through the first four innings.

Offensively, Geneva struggled to get anything going against Grove City starter John Bini.  After senior Tyler Pagaduan led off the bottom of the first with a single, Geneva didn't manage another hit until the seventh inning, and the game was ended after seven innings with Grove City winning, 11-0.

In game two, sophomore starter Josh Grant came through with a much better outing.  Geneva scored single runs in the first and second innings on RBIs from freshman Garrison Wieland and junior Jericho Hilling to take a 2-0 lead.

Grove City managed to tie the score with singles runs in the third and fourth inning, but Geneva retook the lead, 3-2, in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI groundout from senior Richie Rowe.  Geneva finally put up a big inning in the sixth, scoring three times, with Rowe and senior Vinny Howells picking up RBIs.

Grove City scored a run in the eighth to make it 6-3, and then the Wolverines loaded the bases in the ninth, but Hilling struck out the final batter to secure the win.

Freshman Dylan O'Rourke was big in relief, going 3.1 innings while giving up just two hits and one run, and he picked up his first win the of the season.  Hilling picked up his first save. 

Offensively, Hilling had a big game, going a perfect 4-for-4 with a run and an RBI.  Wieland added three hits, while freshman Dillon Bickerton scored three times.

"It was good to see the guys have the mental toughness to forget about the first game, shake it off, and get ready quickly for the second game," Assistant Coach Ignacio Villalobos said. "It was important to jump out early, get ahead, and stay ahead, and then close it out.  That speaks to the growth of our guys and the intensity they came out with in that second game.  Next time we just need to do that in both games."

Geneva heads next to Bethany College on Tuesday for a doubleheader starting at 1:00 p.m.  Bethany enters that doubleheader with a 5-16 record, 2-6 in the PAC.