WAYNESBURG, Pa. – The Geneva College baseball team suffered a pair of losses on Saturday afternoon at Waynesburg in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) openers for both teams. Geneva lost the two games by scores of 2-1 and 5-1 as the Golden Tornadoes couldn't get their offense going in the doubleheader. Geneva is now 7-5 overall.
Junior Caleb Graft got the start on the mound for Geneva, and he was excellent again after earning PAC Pitcher of the Week honors last week. After a leadoff double to start the game, Graft retired the next nine Yellow Jackets.
Geneva's offense produced several base runners in the early going, but the Golden Tornadoes couldn't push a run across until the top of the fourth when senior Tim Hermansen's two-out RBI-single finally got Geneva on the board. Unfortunately, that was all the offense the Golden Tornadoes could muster against Waynesburg starter Dalton Lucey.
A leadoff walk in the bottom of the fourth eventually came around to score on a two-out RBI-triple, allowing Waynesburg to pull even at 1-1.
Both starting pitchers kept the offenses in check, though Geneva did have at least one baserunner in every inning.
Sophomore Eric Keaton relieved Graft after seven strong innings, and a leadoff hit batter in the bottom of the ninth proved costly. Waynesburg moved that runner to second, and then Garrett Comer drove in the winning run with a ground ball through the left side to give the Yellow Jackets the walkoff win, 2-1. Lucey pitched the complete game for Waynesburg to earn the win.
Graft deserved better than a no-decision after pitching 7.0 innings while giving up just three hits and two walks, while striking out five. Geneva outhit Waynesburg 9-5, with Hermansen, sophomore Kirk Bearjar and freshman Bradley McGuire each picking up two hits.
Sophomore Ryan Conover got the start in game two, and Waynesburg got on the board in the bottom of the first after a leadoff walk came around to score after a couple of Geneva errors. A couple hits later, Waynesburg added a second run before Conover got out of the inning with a strikeout.
McGuire homered to leadoff the top of the third for Geneva's first run off the game, but Waynesburg answered in the bottom of the frame with a pair of runs to give the Yellow Jackets a 4-1 edge.
Geneva had chances in the middle innings, leaving the bases loaded in the fifth and leaving runners at second and third in the sixth, but the Golden Tornadoes could not come up with the big hit when they needed it against Waynesburg starter Ethan Erhard.
Junior Zach Lemansky relieved Conover after six solid innings of relief, and Waynesburg added a run in the bottom of the seventh on a home run, which wrapped up the scoring in the game as Geneva fell 5-1.
Hermansen had a strong day at the plate in game two as well, finishing 3-for-4, while McGuire's home run accounted for the lone run for the Golden Tornadoes.
Baseball will be back in action on Thursday for a single game at Hiram before opening the home portion of its schedule on Friday with a doubleheader against Penn College beginning at 1:30 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).
