BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College baseball team hosted Chatham on Monday afternoon for a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) doubleheader, playing the final two games of the three-game series after the Golden Tornadoes opened the series on Friday night with a 7-4 victory. Geneva knew it would have to dodge the rain to get the doubleheader in, but the two teams couldn't make it through both games before the rains came. The Golden Tornadoes defeated Chatham 12-5 in game one, but game two was suspended due to rain in the third inning with Geneva leading 1-0. Geneva's record is now 8-16 overall, 4-7 in the PAC.
Junior Timothy Munz (Euclid, Ohio/Lake Catholic) got the start for Geneva in game one, and Munz was effective early. The Cougars were able to scratch a run across in the top of the second to get on the board first.
Geneva responded in the bottom of the inning, with senior Adrian Tapia (Homestead, Fla./Keys Gate Charter) doubling and sophomores Jackson Hall (New Brighton, Pa./New Brighton) and Tim Hermansen (Lancaster, Pa./Penn Manor) singling to open the inning, leading to three runs for the Golden Tornadoes.
Geneva doubled its lead in the bottom of the fourth, courtesy two Chatham errors and a wild pitch, all with two outs, giving the Golden Tornadoes a 6-1 lead.
Munz ran into some trouble in the top of the sixth, though, with Munz getting hurt by a couple of Geneva throwing errors. Chatham scored four times in the inning before junior Jarrett Orbin (New Springfield, Ohio/Springfield) relieved Munz and got the final out to keep the Golden Tornadoes in the lead, 6-5.
The offense immediately responded, though, and the Golden Tornadoes blew the game open with six runs in the bottom of the inning, with all six runs coming with two outs. Geneva loaded the bases with no outs, but a force out at home and an infield popup put the Golden Tornadoes in danger of going scoreless. However, Tapia had a big ten-pitch at-bat, eventually drawing a walk to push the first run across. Hall added a two-run double and Hermansen an RBI-single in the six-run outburst. Orbin quickly finished the game off in the seventh by retiring the Cougars in order.
Munz earned his first victory of the season, going 5.2 innings while giving up six hits, five runs (four earned), while striking out three. Orbin retired all four batters he faced to earn the save.
Offensively, freshman Cael Brandt (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) led the offense, going a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with a run and an RBI. Hall and Hermansen each finished 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs. Sophomore David Toruno (Menifee, Calif./Paloma Valley) and junior Gabriel Morales (Homestead, Fla./South Dade) each scored two runs.
The first game was played through some off and on light ran, but the rain began to pick up as game two got underway. Freshman Jeff Hawkins (Severn, Md./Mount Saint Joseph) got the start and was strong, pitching three scoreless innings.
Geneva got on the board in the first when Morales and freshman Zack Sackett (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) executed a first-and-third double steal, with Morales scoring on the play. In the bottom of the third inning, Toruno and Morales opened the frame with singles when the game was suspended due to rain.
The teams will look to find a common date to finish the game. If they can find a date, the game will be picked up where the two teams left off. If they can't find a common date, the game will be canceled.
Geneva is back in action on Thursday when the Golden Tornadoes host W&J for a single game 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).
