BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College baseball team opened Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play on Tuesday afternoon at Waynesburg, and the Golden Tornadoes came home with a 6-5 victory over the Yellow Jackets. Geneva improved to 5-9 overall, 1-0 in the PAC, while Waynesburg dropped to 4-9 overall, 0-1 in the PAC.
Geneva got on the scoreboard immediately in the top of the first inning, scoring three times. Freshman Zack Sackett (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) drove home two with a double, and senior Adrian Tapia (Homestead, Fla./Keys Gate Charter) drove home Sackett with another double to give Geneva an early 3-0 lead.
Freshman Jeff Hawkins (Severn, Md./Mount Saint Joseph) got the ball on the mound, and he put together another strong performance. The Geneva defense let Hawkins down in the bottom of the second, though, with two Golden Tornado errors leading to three runs for the Yellow Jackets, with Waynesburg finishing the inning with just one single.
A leadoff home run in the bottom of the fourth for Waynesburg was the only earned run Hawkins allowed, which gave the Yellow Jackets a brief 4-3 lead.
Geneva responded in the top of the fifth, though, tying the score on an RBI-single from Tapia. The Golden Tornadoes then retook the lead in the top of the sixth, 6-4, on an RBI-double from junior Jarrett Orbin (New Springfield, Ohio/Springfield) and an RBI-single from junior Gabriel Morales (Homestead, Fla./South Dade).
Hawkins got Geneva through six innings before sophomore Giovani Noa (Homestead, Fla./South Dade) took over in relief to start the seventh. Noa allowed a solo home run in the eighth, but that was all he allowed, and he closed out the final three innings to earn the save in Geneva's 6-5 victory.
Hawkins moved his record to 3-0 on the season, pitching 6.0 innings while allowing just three hits. Four runs scored while he was on the mound, but just one was earned. Hawkins and Noa combined to give up just five hits total.
Offensively, Morales led the way with a 3-for-5 effort, scoring a run and driving in a run. Sackett finished 2-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs, while Tapia also contributed two hits and two RBIs as the Golden Tornadoes finished with 13 hits.
Geneva will be back in action on Friday when the Golden Tornadoes host Grove City at 4:00 p.m. for a single game.
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).
