BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College baseball team wrapped up the home portion of its schedule on a cold Tuesday afternoon, dropping a pair of games to Allegheny College on Senior Day by scores of 14-6 and 7-0. The losses dropped Geneva's record to 12-19 overall, 5-9 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC). Allegheny improved to 15-13 overall, 8-4 in the PAC.
Freshman Collin Porter got the start in game one, and he struggled with his control in a game that had a starting temperature hovering around 40 degrees. A leadoff walk led to a run for Allegheny in the first inning, and then the Gators opened up a big lead a couple innings later.
Allegheny took advantage of command issues from Porter and junior reliever Joshua Kearns to add three runs in the third and four runs in each of the fourth and fifth innings. By the time the bottom of the fifth rolled around, the Gators had scored 12 times on just seven hits, aided by 11 Golden Tornado walks.
Geneva got on the board in the bottom of the fifth. Senior Gabriel Morales singled in one run, while senior Alex Fee came in to score on a groundout later in the inning. The Golden Tornadoes added one more run in the frame when freshman Kirk Bearjar's RBI-single brought Morales home.
Geneva added three more runs in the bottom of the seventh. Bearjar had an RBI-double, and then three batters later sophomore Zack Sackett brought home two more runners with a double, cutting the Allegheny lead in half at 12-6.
The deficit was too great to overcome, though, and the Gators added two more runs in the ninth to finish out the scoring.
Geneva actually outhit Allegheny 14-13 in the game, but the Gators were helped by 12 walks from Geneva pitching. Fee led the offense with three hits, while Morales, Bearjar, junior Tim Hermansen and sophomore Connor O'Brien each added two hits apiece.
The second game was a much different affair. Freshman Ryan Conover and his sparkling 1.57 ERA took the mound for Geneva, while Allegheny countered with their top starting pitcher, Mark Schweickert. Neither offense found any success early.
Conover mowed down the Gators, not allowing a hit for the first five innings. Geneva managed just two hits through its first five innings, both singles by Sackett.
Allegheny broke through in the sixth, though. Two soft singles to start the inning got the Gators going, and Allegheny eventually scored three runs in the inning, despite just one more hit.
That would be the only thing Conover gave up through seven innings of work, but the Golden Tornadoes managed just one hit over the final four innings, and Allegheny put the game away with four runs against the Geneva bullpen over the final two innings.
Conover gave up just three hits, three runs and a walk, all coming in the fifth inning, in seven innings of work. He struck out three.
The doubleheader represented the final home games for Morales and Fee along with seniors Adrian Tapia and Timothy Munz. The Golden Tornadoes wrap up their season with three road doubleheaders, beginning this Saturday at Westminster.
Through purposeful learning in a community reflecting the full spectrum of God's kingdom, a Geneva College experience inspires students to discover a faith-life calling in service to God and neighbor. Offering 195+ traditional undergraduate majors and programs, fully online Adult Degree Programs and high-demand graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality and affordability. 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 the International Association for Christian Education (IACE).
