MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – After seeing Valley Forge overcome a big early deficit and take a one-run lead, the Geneva College baseball team rallied late, using an RBI-double from sophomore Kirk Bearjar and great relief pitching from junior Zach Lemansky to secure an 8-7 victory over the Patriots. Geneva improved to 2-1 with the win.
Sophomore Eric Keaton got the start for the Golden Tornadoes, and he was effective early, pitching three scoreless innings. An RBI-double from freshman Josh Hull in the second, along with an RBI-walk from sophomore Aaron Babu in the third, gave Geneva an early 2-0 lead.
Valley Forge scratched across its first run in the top of the fourth, but Geneva responded with a big inning in the bottom of the frame, with some help from a couple Patriot errors.
Hull got on base to start the inning on a hit-by-pitch. Junior Eric Gonzalez laid down a sacrifice bunt, which the Valley Forge pitcher, Eric Reinhart, bobbled allowing Gonzalez to reach safely. Senior Tim Hermansen followed with another sacrifice bunt, and this time Reinhart fielded the ball cleanly, but he threw wildly to first allowing both Hull and Gonzalez to score. Junior Zack Sackett followed with an RBI-double to drive home Hermansen, and with two outs, sophomore Ethan Blair drove home Sackett with a double to extend Geneva's lead to 6-1.
Valley Forge answered right back in the top of the fifth, though, knocking Keaton out of the game in the process. The Patriots put together four runs of their own to pull back within one, 6-5. An inning later, Valley Forge added two more runs to take its first lead of the game, 7-6, capping off six straight runs for the Patriots. Lemansky came in from the bullpen midway through the inning and prevented further damage, and it was his work in relief that was key to the Geneva victory.
Geneva immediately pulled even in the bottom of the frame. Sackett, who reached base in all five of his plate appearances, singled and stole second. Two batters later, Bearjar drove him in with a single to make it 7-7.
Lemansky completely shut down the Valley Forge attack. In fact, he retired all 12 batters he faced. The Geneva offense rewarded him with a win when Bearjar's RBI-double in the eighth proved the deciding run. Lemansky finished off the win with a strikeout, 8-7.
Lemansky finished with a perfect four innings of relief, striking out four batters to earn the victory.
Sackett was the star for the offense, finishing 4-for-4 with a double, a walk, two stolen bases, three runs and an RBI. Bearjar finished 2-for-4 with a double, a walk and two RBIs. Senior David Toruno also collected two of Geneva's ten hits.
Geneva will return to action in the morning with a 9:00 a.m. game against Hilbert on Ebbets Field.
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).
