VERO BEACH, Fla. – It has been a tough start to spring break for the young Geneva College baseball team, who lost twice to Norwich on Wednesday in Florida by scores of 7-3 and 8-3. The Golden Tornadoes are now 2-4 on the season.
Junior Timothy Munz (Euclid, Ohio/Lake Catholic) took the mound in game one, and the Cadets scored twice in the bottom of the first to take an early lead.
Senior Alex Fee (New Castle, Pa./New Castle) singled in a run in the top of the second to pull Geneva within one. Munz settled down after the first inning and threw three scoreless innings to keep the Golden Tornadoes close, and freshman Zack Sackett (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) singled home a run in the top of the fifth to tie the game at 2-2.
Unfortunately, as was the problem on Tuesday, Geneva gave up a big inning in the bottom of the fifth, with another Golden Tornado error opening the door for a big Norwich rally. The Cadets scored five times in the inning, knocking Munz out of the game in the process, with just one of the runs earned.
Geneva closed out the scoring with a run in the top of the seventh, dropping the game 7-3.
Munz took the loss, pitching 4.1 innings while giving up seven hits, seven runs (three earned), with one strikeout. Fee led the offense, going 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI, while senior Adrian Tapia (Homestead, Fla./Keys Gate Charter) added two hits and a run.
Sophomore Joshua Kearns (Akron, Ohio/Woodridge) got the start in game two, and Norwich scored first with two runs in the top of the second.
Geneva got on the board in the bottom of the second on an RBI-single from sophomore David Toruno (Menifee, Calif./Paloma Valley), and the Golden Tornadoes had a chance for more but left the bases loaded.
Norwich got that run back, along with three more, in the top of the third inning, putting together six singles off Kearns that led to four runs, extending the Norwich lead to 6-1
The Cadets plated two more runs in the top of the fifth, knocking Kearns out of the game in the process. Freshman Derek Sears (Sherman, N.Y./Sherman) relieved Kearns and provided three innings of scoreless relief to close out the game.
Sophomore Tim Hermansen (Lancaster, Pa./Penn Manor) provided an RBI-single in the fifth and freshman Harrison Burns (Buford, Ga./Buford) an RBI-double in the seventh to finish off the scoring.
Kearns took the loss, pitching 4.0 innings while giving up 13 hits, all singles, and eight runs.
The offense managed 12 hits, but the Golden Tornadoes stranded 10 runners. Sackett led the way with a 3-for-4 effort. Hermansen, Burns, Toruno and freshman Cael Brandt (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) each added two hits apiece.
Geneva will have Thursday off before meeting up with Monmouth College for a doubleheader on Friday beginning at 10:00 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).
