GREENVILLE, Pa. – The Geneva College baseball team dropped the opening game of a three-game series at Thiel College on Friday, 21-9, in a high-scoring affair.  The Tomcats used a big first inning to seize control of the game, and Thiel never let up the rest of the way.  Thiel improved to 11-6, 7-8 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Geneva fell to 6-16, 1-11 in the PAC.

After a scoreless top of the first, Thiel took advantage of control issues from freshman starter Elijah Small (Connellsville, Pa./Connellsville Area).  Small retired the first Tomcat, but he hit the second batter and walked the next two, loading the bases.  Thiel scored one run on a sacrifice fly, and then Christian Aldrich homered to right to give the Tomcats 4-0 lead.

Thiel added a run in the bottom of the second before Geneva got on the scoreboard in the third inning.  Sophomore Garrison Wieland (Sharpsville, Pa./Sharpsville) doubled home a run to make it 5-1.

Josh Grant (Allison Park, Pa./Shaler) relieved Small to begin the third, and Grant's outing proved to be a tough one.  All six batters Grant faced got on base before Head Coach Alan Sumner relieved Grant by bringing in freshman Marshall Wheeler (Butler, Pa./Butler).  Wheeler got the next three batters out, but the damage had been done, with the Tomcats increasing their lead to 9-1.

Geneva's offense did get going, scoring four runs in both the sixth and seventh innings.  Freshman Alex Fee (New Castle, Pa./New Castle) had an RBI-double in the sixth, and Wieland and Fee both had RBI hits in the seventh.  However, Thiel answered those eight runs with eight runs of its own in those innings, and the Tomcats closed out the victory, 21-9.

Wieland led the way offensively, going 3-for-4 with three doubles, two runs and three RBIs.  Fee also had three hits, finishing 3-for-5 with a double and three RBIs.  Small took the loss and is now 0-1.

Geneva hosts Thiel tomorrow for two games to finish up the series.  First pitch is 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.