GREENVILLE, Pa. – The spring sports are just around the corner for the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), with most of the schools in the conference preparing to send their baseball and softball teams down to Florida for a week of game action over Spring Break in just a little over two weeks, including the Geneva College baseball team. In preparation for the upcoming baseball season, the PAC released its preseason baseball poll on Tuesday afternoon, as voted on by the coaches, and the Golden Tornadoes were picked to finish tenth overall. W&J, the reigning PAC Champion, was picked first.
The Golden Tornadoes are coming off a season last year in which PAC teams only played each other due to COVID concerns, so it was unique year in which there was no non-conference competition. Geneva opened the season 4-3 before struggling down the stretch to an 11-24 overall record, 6-21 in games that counted in the PAC standings.
There is significant turnover in the Geneva roster this season, with several key hitters for the Golden Tornadoes having either graduated or moved on, so there will be several new faces in this year's lineup.
Geneva does return two of its starting outfielders in senior Alex Fee (New Castle, Pa./New Castle) and junior Gabriel Morales (Homestead, Fla./South Dade). Sophomore infielder David Toruno (Menifee, Calif./Paloma Valley) is also back after a strong freshman campaign that saw Turuno come on late in the season, leading the Golden Tornadoes with a .364 average.
In addition, senior first baseman Dillon Bickerton (Salem, Ohio/Salem) is back with the program after missing last season. Senior infielder Adrian Tapia (Homestead, Fla./Keys Gate Charter) is back after hitting .319 last season, along with senior infielder Anthony Wuenstel (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon McMillan). Sophomore outfielder Tim Hermansen (Lancaster, Pa./Penn Manor) and sophomore catcher Jarrett Orbin (New Springfield, Ohio/Springfield) are also back after seeing playing time last season.
On the mound, junior Timothy Munz (Euclid, Ohio/Lake Catholic) and sophomore Joshua Kearns (Akron, Ohio/Woodridge) are two of the top pitchers returning. Munz pitched a team-high 48.0 innings, while Kearns wasn't far behind with 41.2 innings pitched. Orbin also saw time on the mound for Geneva last year.
In addition to the returners, Head Coach Alan Sumner will look to a number of newcomers to make an immediate impact for the Golden Tornadoes. The roster has 13 new players this season.
Geneva opens its season with a doubleheader against Valley Forge on Saturday, March 5, in Aberdeen, Maryland. The Golden Tornadoes will then head down to Florida where Geneva will play seven more games over Spring Break before returning back to campus for a home-opening doubleheader with Hilbert on Thursday, March 17.
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).
