BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College baseball team pitched well enough against Westminster in Friday afternoon's doubleheader, but the offense's inability to drive in runs, coupled with some key errors, led to a pair of losses to the Titans by scores of 4-2 and 5-2.  Westminster improved to 11-15 overall, 7-13 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Geneva dropped to 8-17 overall, 5-15 in the PAC.

Junior Marshall Wheeler (Butler, Pa./Butler) took the ball in game one, and he once again put together another strong outing.  Unfortunately, his defense let him down, and his offense couldn't come up with enough key hits.

Westminster got on the board in the top of the first after the leadoff man reached on an error and later came around to score.

Sophomore Alex McKay (Cochranton, Pa./Cochranton) supplied the only offense of the game for the Golden Tornadoes in the bottom of the second, providing a 2-out, 2-RBI single to give Geneva the lead, 2-1.

Wheeler cruised through the next three innings, but the Golden Tornadoes' offense missed out on multiple chances to extend their lead, and it proved costly later in the game.  Geneva left the bases loaded in third and left two runners on in each of the fourth and fifth innings.

The key play of the game came in the top of the sixth.  Westminster put two men on after the first batter of the inning was retired by Wheeler, and then James Diamond's deep fly ball to the warning track in left field was dropped, which led to two more unearned runs and knocked Wheeler out of the game.

Westminster added an insurance run in the top of the seventh, and the Geneva offense never mounted a rally in dropping the game, 4-2.

Wheeler finished his day pitching 5.2 innings, giving up six hits and three runs, all unearned, while striking out four.  McKay finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs, with the Geneva offense finishing with just five hits.

Sophomore Austin Smith (Chardon, Ohio/Chardon) got the start in game two, and he was solid as well.  Smith ran into his only real trouble of the day in the top of the third, with the Titans scoring three times, with a walk, a hit batter and a misplayed double leading to Westminster's three runs.

Sophomore Gabriel Morales (Homestead, Fla./South Dade) came up with an RBI-single in the bottom of the third to get Geneva on the board, but the Golden Tornadoes could never string together enough hits.

Westminster added a run in the top of the sixth off Smith, but freshman Abel Riverol (Homestead, Fla./Keys Gate Charter) delivered an RBI-single in the bottom of the inning to pull Geneva back within two, 4-2.

The Titans answered right back, though, with a two-out run in the top of the seventh, extending the Westminster lead to 5-2, and the Golden Tornadoes could never respond.  Geneva's best chance came in the bottom of the eighth when the first two batters reached base with the middle of the lineup due up, but three straight outs ended the threat, and the Golden Tornadoes went quietly in the ninth, falling 5-2.

Smith picked up the loss, going 7.0 innings and giving up seven hits and five runs.  The Geneva offense managed just six hits in game two, with Riverol and freshman David Toruno (Menifee, Cali./Paloma Valley) each finishing with two hits.

Geneva heads to Westminster tomorrow to complete the four-game series.  The first game of the doubleheader begins at 11:00 a.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).