BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – In a rescheduled game from Saturday's postponed doubleheader at Chatham, Geneva baseball prevailed victorious on Monday, defeating the Cougars 11-6 in a single game that was moved to Geneva. After falling behind by a 2-1 deficit after the fourth, the Golden Tornadoes caught fire in a nine-run fifth inning, and Chatham would never be able to erase the difference. The victory improved Geneva to 9-12 overall, 2-3 in conference play.
Junior David Toruno led the way early, blasting a convincing left-field home run in the first inning. Freshman Collin Porter let the Cougars know he was en route to pitching a great six innings by shutting them down through the first two.
The Cougars would, however, tally a pair of runs through the third and fourth innings, lifting them to a one-run lead. It was in the top of the fifth that Geneva erased the Chatham lead quickly. Senior Alex Fee got things going with a strong double, and the bats seemingly never stopped for Geneva. David Toruno would bring Fee home with his second RBI of the day just two batters later.
Freshman Ethan Blair had a career-high day at the plate in virtually every statistic, including an RBI in the very next at-bat. Blair would round for home on the succeeding RBI-single from senior Adrian Tapia. A change on the mound for Chatham did not silence the Geneva offense, as sophomore Connor O'Brien added an RBI-double of his own. The last run of the big inning came from junior Tim Hermansen's single that drove home sophomore Cael Brandt. The score was 10-2, but the GTs would tack on an additional run in the sixth for good measure, coming from a walk while the bases were loaded.
Geneva nearly added a grand slam amidst their barrage of scoring, but the ball was narrowly ruled foul, avoiding what would have become a mercy rule. This kept Chatham alive, and the Cougars were quick to pounce on their opportunity. Two wild pitches in the bottom of the 8th inning, combined with a flurry of offense of their own, allowed Chatham to draw the lead back down to 11-6, where it would remain through the ninth.
Nine players scored runs for Geneva today, while all nine starters collected at least one hit. No one had quite the day at the plate that Blair had, who finished 4-of-5 with an RBI. Hermansen added three hits in his five at-bats, contributing two RBIs.
Porter earned the win, allowing only two runs (one earned) in six innings, with four strikeouts. Junior Joshua Kearns pitched 1.2 innings in relief, while sophomore Derek Sears relieved late for the final five batters. The 11-6 victory marks Geneva's fourth win over Chatham University in the last five meetings.
The second game of the postponed doubleheader will be played at Chatham on Thursday night. Before Geneva plays that game, though, they face PAC opponent Waynesburg (4-2 PAC) tomorrow in a doubleheader at home. The first game is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m.
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).
