BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – Geneva College baseball's junior starting pitcher Jarrett Orbin (New Springfield, Ohio/Springfield) put together a strong outing in the first game of Geneva's doubleheader against Penn State New Kensington on Saturday afternoon, leading the Golden Tornadoes to a 3-2 victory. The Lions took the second game 12-6 to earn a split. Geneva's record is now 4-8.
Orbin was strong from the start in his first outing of the season. Senior Dillon Bickerton (Salem, Ohio/Salem) homered to get Geneva on the board in the top of the second, and the Golden Tornadoes pushed another run across later in the inning to lead 2-0.
Senior Adrian Tapia (Homestead, Fla./Keys Gate Charter) drove home a third run in the bottom of the sixth to give Geneva a 3-0 lead, as Orbin kept the Lions scoreless through the first six inning.
A Geneva error to start the top of the seventh allowed the Penn State New Kensington offense a little bit of life, and sophomore Giovanni Noa (Homestead, Fla./South Dade) eventually had to relieve Orbin. The Lions scored twice, but Noa earned the save and Geneva held on for a 3-2 win.
Orbin earned the win with six strong innings, giving up just four hits and two unearned runs, while striking out three. Bickerton provided two of Geneva's four hits in the game.
Noa got the start in the second game, and Geneva got on the board first on an RBI-single from freshman Zack Sackett (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) in the bottom of the first.
Noa got through the first two innings without much trouble, but the Lions put together a big inning in the top of the third, scoring six times, helped out by a Geneva error, knocking Noa out of the game in process.
Penn State New Kensington broke the game open with four more runs in the top of the fifth and two more in the top of the sixth.
Geneva managed three runs in the bottom of the fifth and one more in the bottom of the sixth to close out the scoring.
The Geneva defense had rough game, committing five errors leading to six unearned runs. Sophomore David Toruno (Menifee, Calif./Paloma Valley) led the offense with three hits, while Sackett, sophomore Tim Hermansen (Lancaster, Pa./Penn Manor) and freshman Connor O'Brien (Swanton, Md./Calvary Christian) each added two hits apiece.
Geneva opens up conference play on Tuesday with a road game at Waynesburg beginning at 4:00 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).
