BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – Geneva and Chatham battled to the finish in two very exciting games Monday afternoon, with the Cougars taking the first game 11-9 and the Golden Tornadoes winning game two 12-10. Bats were hot for both sides in the late April heat, and runs were not hard to come by in the final games of the season for the GTs. After the split, Geneva's record stands at 16-20 overall, 6-14 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Chatham moves to 17-17 overall, 8-9 in the PAC.

A double from freshman Michael Twigg in the first inning got the hitting started for both sides in game one. After senior Tim Hermansen reached base on a bunted single, junior Zach Lemansky put the GTs in the lead with a groundout that sent Twigg home.

Geneva's offense went dead silent for the next five innings, while Chatham built up an impressive 7-1 lead that they took into the bottom of the seventh. The Golden Tornadoes rallied, however, loading up the bases with nobody out to start their half of the frame. After sophomore Kirk Bearjar walked with the bases loaded, Lemansky and senior David Toruno hit back-to-back singles to score three more runs. An RBI-single from freshman Jonathan Dysinger later in the seventh capped off the inning for the GTs, and they found themselves only down a run heading into the eighth.

An RBI-triple from Bearjar in the eighth inning tied the score at 7, and the men looked like they were in prime position to complete the comeback. However, with two outs in the top of the ninth, the Cougars filled up the bases on back-to-back walks and a Geneva fielding error. All three runners eventually came home, as well as one extra, and while Geneva scored twice more in the bottom of the inning on a single from junior Zack Sackett the GTs couldn't come back again and lost the game 11-9.

Sackett was a perfect 4-for-4 for the men in game one, with two RBIs and a run scored. Twigg also went 4-for-4, scoring three runs of his own. Lemansky picked up three RBIs, Bearjar had two, and Hermansen went 3-for-6 at the plate to round out the offense for Geneva. Sophomore Eric Keaton got the start on the pitcher's mound.

Geneva's bats were very hot to start game two, with an RBI-double from Sackett opening the scoring in the first inning. The Golden Tornadoes loaded up the bases with nobody out in the very next inning, and after a Dysinger walk pushed one run across, Twigg blasted a grand slam over the left field fence to put the men in front 6-0. The Cougars scored five runs of their own in the top of the third, but an RBI-double off the bat of junior Eric Gonzalez gave Geneva a two-run lead entering the fourth inning, 7-5.

Three more Chatham runs gave the Cougars an 8-7 advantage, but Dysinger came up big in the bottom of the fifth with a two-RBI single to put the GTs back in the lead. The Cougars put together one last offensive effort in the top of the eighth inning, scoring two more runs to take a slim lead, but after junior Harrison Burns stole home in the bottom of the frame and Twigg and Hermansen picked up RBIs on base hits, the scoring was over. Geneva took a back-and-forth game two 12-10.

Freshman Cayden Cribbs was credited with the win, pitching 2.1 innings of relief. He allowed two runs, one earned, on four hits during his time on the mound. Sophomore Jacob McFarland pitched a perfect ninth inning for his second save of the season, striking out two batters. Sophomore Ryan Conover received the start.

Twigg led the charge offensively in game two, going 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, five RBIs and two runs scored. Gonzalez was right behind him by posting a 3-for-4 day with an RBI-double, and Hermansen went 3-for-5 with an RBI as well. Burns went 2-for-3 with four runs scored.

It was the final collegiate game for Geneva's four seniors, Hermansen, Toruno, Joshua Kearns, and Cael Brandt. The Golden Tornadoes will need to replace the holes left in the lineup by their departure, but the bulk of this year's squad will return next season looking to build on what they accomplished.