LATROBE, Pa. – The first game didn't go well for the Geneva College baseball team at Saint Vincent on Monday afternoon, losing 10-1, but the Golden Tornadoes bounced back for a 4-2 victory in game two of the doubleheader. Geneva's record now stands at 8-15 overall, 5-13 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Saint Vincent is 13-10 overall, 12-6 in the PAC.
In game one, senior
Dylan O'Rourke (Hutchinson, Pa./Yough) took the mound and put together a solid outing, but he didn't get any support from the Geneva offense, who were stymied by Saint Vincent starting pitcher Tom Bash.
Saint Vincent got on the board in the second after a leadoff double came around to score on two productive Bearcat outs. Geneva left the bases loaded in the third, and then wasted a second-and-third one-out situation in the fourth.
Saint Vincent added to their lead in the sixth when the first two Bearcats got on and, after a bunt moved them over, both runners scored on a single, making it 3-0.
The floodgates opened in the seventh for Saint Vincent, knocking O'Rourke out of the game in the process. The key play came, after the first two batters reached on a hit-by-pitch and a bunt single, when a throwing error on a potential double play ball allowed both base runners to score. The first nine Bearcats ended up reaching base in the inning before an out was finally recorded, and the final damage showed seven runs for Saint Vincent, blowing the game open, 10-0.
Geneva got on the board in the top of the eighth on an RBI-double from sophomore
Abram King (Washington, Pa./Trinity), preventing the shutout and accounting for the last run of the game, 10-1.
King led the offense with a 2-for-3 effort at the plate, while sophomore
Alex McKay (Cochranton, Pa./Cochranton) added two hits as well. Geneva struck out 13 times against Bash. O'Rourke took the loss, going 6.0 innings and giving up five hits, seven runs (five earned) and four walks.
Freshman
Joshua Kearns (Akron, Ohio/Woodridge) took the mound in game two and held the Bearcats scoreless early on. Geneva provided him a run in the top of the second on an RBI-single from junior
Alex Fee (New Castle, Pa./New Castle), but Golden Tornadoes missed on a chance for more when a double play with the bases loaded ended the threat.
Saint Vincent got on the board in the bottom of the fourth when a walk, a bloop single, a wild pitch and a dribbler that snuck through the infield led to two Bearcat runs. A two-out RBI-single by freshman
Cameron Tyson (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis) tied the score at 2-2 in the top of the fifth.
In the top of the sixth inning, the Golden Tornadoes put together more two-out production when King and freshman
Donald Dungee (Virginia Beach, Va./Landstown) came up with back-to-back RBI-singles with two outs to give Geneva a 4-2 lead.
Kearns made those runs stand up, finishing the complete-game effort in seven innings to move his record to 4-0 on the season. He gave up just four hits and two runs, while walking three and striking out three.
Dungee had the first three-hit game of his career, finishing 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI. King, Fee and Tyson each added two hits apiece.
Geneva will be back in action on Friday when the Golden Tornadoes open a four-game series against Westminster with a home doubleheader beginning 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 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 has one of the top 100 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. Geneva was founded and is governed by the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA) and is a founding member of both the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) and IACE (International Association for Christian Education).
