BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – What a difference a couple of days make.  Two days after dropping a doubleheader at Waynesburg on Saturday afternoon, losing both games by double digits, the Geneva College baseball returned the favor on Monday afternoon, using good starting pitching and timely hitting to sweep the Yellow Jackets by scores of 4-3 and 6-5.  Geneva improved to 4-3 overall, 4-2 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Waynesburg dropped to 2-6 overall, 1-5 in the PAC.  The Golden Tornadoes have already doubled their conference win total from two seasons ago, after having last year's season canceled.

Junior Marshall Wheeler (Butler, Pa./Butler) took the mound in game one, and he was really good throughout.  Waynesburg pushed a run across in the top of the second, but Wheeler got out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam, striking out the final two runners of the inning to prevent further damage.  Geneva loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the inning, but a double play prevented a big inning and limited the Golden Tornadoes to just one, tying the score.

The Geneva defense let Wheeler down in the top of the third, with two Golden Tornado errors gifting Waynesburg two runs.  Geneva answered in the bottom of the inning with a run when sophomore Gabriel Morales (Homestead, Fla./South Dade) was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame, advanced to second on a wild pitch, moved to third on a groundout, and scored on an RBI-groundout off the bat of sophomore Abram King (Washington, Pa./Trinity).

Wheeler continued his strong performance, retiring nine straight at one point.  King tied the score in the bottom of the fifth with a 2-out, RBI-single, evening the score at 3-3.

Wheeler cruised through the last two innings of the seven-inning game.  In the bottom of the seventh, Geneva loaded the bases with one out.  After a strikeout, senior Dylan O'Rourke (Hutchinson, Pa./Yough) hit a sky-high popup on the right side that the second baseman didn't track properly with the bright sunshine and windy day, and it dropped for a game-winning single.

Wheeler picked up a well-deserved win, his first of the season, pitching all seven innings while giving up seven hits and three runs, though just one was earned, while striking out a career-high seven.  O'Rourke finished 3-for-4 with the game-winning RBI, King went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, and Morales scored twice.

Sophomore Austin Smith (Chardon, Ohio/Chardon) took the hill in game two, and he also put together a strong outing.  Waynesburg took advantage of back-to-back Geneva errors in the bottom of the second to score the game's first run.  In the bottom of the frame, junior Adrian Tapia (Homestead, Fla./Keys Gate Charter) doubled home senior Garrison Wieland (Sharpsville, Pa./Sharpsville) to tie the score at 1-1.  Geneva added another run in the bottom of the third on a sacrifice fly from King.

Waynesburg tied the game back up in the top of the fourth with a single run, but the Golden Tornadoes responded with their best inning of the day in the bottom of the frame.  Geneva scored three times, with Morales delivering the key hit, a two-out, two-RBI double, which followed an RBI-single from junior Alex Fee (New Castle, Pa./New Castle).  That gave the Golden Tornadoes a 5-2 lead.

Waynesburg pulled one back with an unearned run in the top of the sixth, and the Yellow Jackets scored two more in the top of the seventh, knocking out Smith in the process. 

Geneva answered immediately in the bottom of the inning with a two-out rally.  Sophomore Alex McKay (Cochranton, Pa./Cochranton) got the rally going with a single.  He moved to third on a single from King, and Wieland drove McKay home on an RBI-single on what proved to be the game-winning hit.

Freshman Joshua Kearns (Akron, Ohio/Woodridge) shut the door over the final two innings, earning the win with 2.2 innings of relief, 6-5.

Smith's final line was 6.1 innings pitched, and he gave up just five hits and four runs, though just two were earned, along with four strikeouts.  Morales finished 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.  Wieland went 2-for-3 with a run and the game-winning RBI, while Tapia also finished 2-for-3 with a double, a run and an RBI.

"I was really encouraged by the way we bounced back today after a rough day against Waynesburg on Saturday," said Head Coach Alan Sumner.  "We got two really good starting pitching performances from Marshall and Austin, and our offense came up with the key hits when we need them.  After winning our first two games of the season with our offense, it was good to see our pitching step up and earn us these wins."

Geneva will be back in action on Thursday when the Golden Tornadoes travel to Bethany for a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m.  Bethany will then come to Geneva on Saturday for the final two games of the four-game series.


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 145 traditional undergraduate majors and programs, fully online Adult Degree Programs and high-demand graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality. Geneva is included on Kiplinger's Personal Finance's "2019 Best College Values" list and has one of the top undergraduate engineering programs in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report. 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.