MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The Geneva College baseball team got its season underway on Monday morning in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, as the Golden Tornadoes opened their Spring Break week with a doubleheader against Lancaster Bible. The Chargers took the first game, 12-3, but Geneva got a strong pitching performance from junior Caleb Graft to earn a 7-1 victory in game two, earning a split in the doubleheader.
Sophomore Ryan Conover got the start on the mound in game one, and he walked the opening two batters in the bottom of the first, and both eventually came around to score to give Lancaster Bible an early edge.
Conover retired the first two batters in the bottom of the second, but the Chargers put together a two-out rally, scoring three more times to take a 5-0 edge after two innings.
Geneva's offense couldn't get much going early on, and Lancaster Bible knocked Conover out of the game with four more runs in the fourth inning to take a 9-0 lead.
The Golden Tornadoes got on the board in the top of the fourth. Freshman Aiden Garcia drove in two runs with an RBI-double, and senior Tim Hermansen drove in Garcia with an RBI-single.
Lancaster Bible added three more runs in the bottom of the sixth to close out the scoring in game one, 12-3.
Garcia led the team offensively with a 2-for-3 effort, including a double and two RBIs.
In game two, Graft got the start on the mound for the Golden Tornadoes, and Lancaster Bible pushed across a run in the top of the first, but things could have been much worse if not for an inning-ending double play when the Chargers had the bases loaded with one out.
Sophomore Kirk Bearjar got the offense started in the bottom of the second inning with an opposite-field home run to pull Geneva even at 1-1.
Geneva got another break in the third inning when Lancaster Bible again loaded the bases with one out. The Chargers tried a suicide squeeze, but the pitch was in the dirt preventing the batter from making contact. Sackett fielded the pitch cleanly and easily tagged out the incoming runner from third, and then Sackett caught the runner on first too far off the bag and doubled up the runner to get out of the inning.
Sackett then supplied the offense in the bottom of the frame when he drove a pitch over the right field wall for a two-run homer, giving Geneva its first lead of the day.
After the first couple of innings with a lot of traffic on the bases for Graft, he settled down in the middle part of the game and kept the Charger offense in check.
The Geneva offense put up a big inning in the bottom of the sixth, courtesy another home run. Freshman Josh Hull drove home one run with an RBI-single, and then Hull and Garcia came home on junior Eric Gonzalez's three-run homer, his first collegiate home run. That was more than enough offense for the Geneva pitching staff.
Junior Zach Lemansky relieved Graft in the top of the seventh and pitched a scoreless inning to close out the game, 7-1.
Graft earned the win with 6.0 innings of work while giving up just two hits, one run and two walks, while striking out three. Sackett led the team offensively with a 3-for-4 effort, including a home run and two RBIs. Bearjar added two hits in the win.
Baseball will be back in action with a single game tomorrow against Valley Forge at 3:30 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).
