BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – Waynesburg University used a big inning to start the first game of a doubleheader with the Geneva College baseball team on Saturday afternoon, and a big inning to end the second game of the doubleheader, sweeping the Golden Tornadoes in their home opener.  Waynesburg took the first game, 8-1, and the Yellow Jackets came from behind to win game two, 10-6.  Waynesburg improved to 9-8, 3-0 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Geneva fell to 4-7, 0-3 in the PAC.

Waynesburg jumped on freshman starting pitcher Marshall Wheeler (Butler, Pa./Butler) in the first inning of game one.  After a walk and a hit batter to lead off the inning, the Yellow Jackets pushed five runs across to take an early 5-0 lead.

Wheeler settled down from there, but Geneva could not generate any offense against Waynesburg starter Ty Wickline.  The Golden Tornadoes took advantage of a Waynesburg error to score once in the sixth, but Wickline gave up just three hits on the afternoon, picking up a complete game in a game that was only scheduled to go seven innings.  Sophomore Garrison Wieland (Sharpsville, Pa./Sharpsville) had two of those hits, going 2-for-3 with the lone Geneva RBI.

Freshman Aaron Erimias (Hermitage, Pa./Hickory) took the mound in the second game, and he put together a very strong start.  Waynesburg was able to push across an unearned run in the first inning, but Erimias was strong from there. 

Geneva took advantage of a Waynesburg error in the bottom of the first inning to score two runs, taking an early 2-1 lead.

Senior Mark Overmier (Crofton, Md./Mount St. Joseph) doubled home a run in the second inning, and Wieland cleared the left-center field fence for a home run in the bottom of the fifth inning.  Senior Dillon Taggart (Livingston Manor, N.Y./Livingston Manor Central) added an RBI-single in the seventh inning, and Geneva looked to be in full control, up 5-1.

Erimias appeared to finally tire in the top of the eighth, and Waynesburg took advantage of two walks, a hit batter, an error, and a wild pitch to plate three runs, with the Yellow Jackets having only a soft single to left for a hit in the inning.

Geneva added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth inning on a sacrifice fly from sophomore Dillon Bickerton (Salem, Ohio/Salem) to make it 6-4.

Senior Jericho Hilling (Williamsburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg) relieved Erimias in the eighth and went to work in the ninth to finish off the game.  Geneva looked to be in good shape, as Hilling retired two of the first three batters, sandwiched around a hit by pitch that put a runner on first.  However, the Golden Tornadoes could not get the final out.  Five straight Yellow Jackets picked up hits with two outs, followed by a Geneva error, that led to six runs for Waynesburg, and the Yellow Jackets closed out the comeback victory with a quick bottom of the ninth, 10-6.

Hilling was tagged for the loss in relief.  Erimias' strong outing, going 7.1 innings while giving up five hits and two earned runs, went for naught.  Overmier finished 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI.  Wieland was 2-for-5 with a homer and two runs scored, while Taggart was also 2-for-5.

"Unfortunately, we showed today that you need to be near perfect to win this in conference, and while we did a lot of things well, it wasn't enough," said Head Coach Alan Sumner.  "I'm blessed to have a great group of young men on this team, and I'm confident they will work hard to figure things out."

Geneva will be back in action on Tuesday when it hosts Westminster for a doubleheader starting at 1:00 p.m.


Geneva College is a Christ-centered academic community that provides a comprehensive education to equip students for faithful and fruitful service to God and neighbor. Offering over 80 traditional undergraduate majors and programs, fully online Adult Degree Programs, and high-demand graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality. U.S. News & World Report ranks Geneva as a Top Three Best Value Regional University with one of the Top 100 engineering programs in the nation. Adhering to the truth of Scripture, a Geneva education is grounded in God's Word as well as in a core curriculum designed to prepare students vocationally to think, write and communicate well in today's world.