BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – Geneva's baseball team dropped both games of a doubleheader to Washington & Jefferson today, losing the first game 9-1 before finding a little bit more offense in game two in an 11-5 defeat. The men's record now stands at 10-8, 2-4 in Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play, while the Presidents have pushed their overall record up to 10-7, boasting a perfect 4-0 record in PAC games.
Game one started off fairly close, with a very good W&J team only scoring twice in the first four innings. In fact, Geneva out-hit the Presidents through the first four innings 4-3, but W&J was able to capitalize on the men they put on base, while the GTs were not. Things started to go south for the men once W&J put together a five-run fifth inning, and the game was not close after that.
Sophomore Kirk Bearjar did launch a home run to left field in Geneva's first at-bat of the ninth inning, his third homer in the past two days, but that was the only run the GTs would score in game one. Bearjar finished the ballgame as the lone bright spot for Geneva at the plate, going 3-for-4 with an RBI from his trip around the bases. Freshman Josh Hull was the only other Geneva player with multiple hits, going 2-for-3.
Juniors Cael Brandt and Jeff Hawkins each had solid outings pitching in relief, with Brandt throwing 2.1 innings and allowing just one run on four hits. Hawkins pitched 2.0 innings and also allowed a run. Both relievers struck out two batters each.
The second game was not much better for the GTs, with the Presidents scoring in each of the first four innings to take a massive 9-0 lead heading into the bottom of the fourth. Back-to-back RBI-doubles from Hull and freshman Bradley McGuire plated three runs for Geneva in the second half of the frame, but that was as close as the men could get the rest of the way.
After W&J pushed a few more runs across the plate, a late ninth-inning surge led to another couple of runs for the Golden Tornadoes to staunch the bleeding. Junior Harrison Burns lined a single into right field to tally a run, and sophomore Ethan Blair walked with the bases loaded to bring the score to 11-5, where it would remain until the final batter was retired.
Freshman Noah Gonzales was the only Geneva batter to record multiple hits in game two, going 2-for-2 after coming in to pinch-hit in the seventh inning. McGuire finished the day with two RBIs on his fourth-inning double.
The GTs' next game comes on Wednesday when they take on Chatham in another home doubleheader. After that, the men travel to Thiel for a doubleheader with the Tomcats on Saturday, April 6.
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).
