BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – Geneva's baseball team dominated game one of their doubleheader against the Saint Vincent Bearcats, winning 9-3 behind some excellent pitching. Game two did not go the GTs' way however, as they lost by a score of 13-4. The Golden Tornadoes now stand at 14-18 overall on the season, 4-12 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference, while Saint Vincent's record is now 9-21, 6-8 in conference play.
A huge first inning at the plate gave the men an advantage from the very beginning, with the first five batters reaching base and eventually scoring. A two-RBI single from junior Zach Lemansky was one of the highlights of the inning, as well as an RBI-single from senior Tim Hermansen and another single from senior David Toruno that scored two runs. The offensive outburst had the GTs riding high as they entered the second inning.
Superb pitching from junior starter Caleb Graft allowed the men to maintain their lead, and they added to it in the bottom of the fourth. Junior Zack Sackett launched a triple to deep left-centerfield to open the inning. Two batters later, a sacrifice fly from Lemansky allowed Sackett to tag up and come home. Aaron Babu scored an inning later when his triple was extended an extra base by a Saint Vincent throwing error, and the GTs' lead was pushed up to 7-0.
The Bearcats plated three runs in the top of the sixth inning, but Geneva responded with a two-run double off the bat of Toruno. No more runs were scored for the rest of the game, and the men took game one 9-3.
Graft secured the victory for the Golden Tornadoes, allowing two runs on seven hits across 5.0 innings. He also struck out an impressive seven batters. Sophomore Jacob McFarland got the save, pitching a near-pristine 4.0 innings, allowing just one run on three hits.
Toruno went 2-for-5 with a double in game one, knocking in four RBIs. Lemansky was close behind him in offensive production, going 2-for-4 with three RBIs.
The GTs got off to another great start offensively in game two as sophomore Kirk Bearjar cranked a two-run home run to left field to give Geneva the early advantage. Toruno followed him up in the next inning with an RBI-double, and junior Eric Gonzalez singled him home to put the men in front 4-0.
Unfortunately for Geneva, that's where the party would end. Saint Vincent scored 13 runs over the final six innings while silencing the Golden Tornadoes' bats, and the Bearcats handed the men a 13-4 loss in game two.
With the home run, Bearjar extended his hitting streak to 13 games, and has now reached base in 21 straight games. He went 2-for-4 from the plate with two RBIs to lead Geneva offensively. Sophomore Ryan Conover got the start in the loss.
The GTs are back in action on Saturday, when they will stay at home for a doubleheader against Bethany beginning at 1:00 PM. The men will then wrap up their season on Monday when they face off against Chatham in another home doubleheader.
