GREENVILLE, Pa. – The Geneva College baseball team was close to earning a doubleheader sweep on Monday afternoon at Thiel, but after seeing the Tomcats score four times in the bottom of the ninth for a 7-6 victory in game one, the Golden Tornadoes bounced back in game two for a 14-7 victory. Geneva is now 11-9 overall, 3-5 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC).
Junior Caleb Graft got the start for Geneva in game one, and he was strong early, allowing just three base runners in the first four scoreless innings. The Golden Tornadoes provided him some run support in the top of the fourth when junior Zach Lemansky walked to open the inning and went to third a double by freshman Bradley McGuire. Lemansky scored on a wild pitch, and sophomore Aaron Babu drove in McGuire with a sacrifice fly.
Thiel pulled even with two runs in the bottom of the fifth, helped by a Geneva error. The Tomcats then took the lead with a run in the bottom of the sixth.
Freshman Josh Hull led off the top of the seventh with a single, and he eventually came around to score on an RBI-single from junior Zack Sackett to pull Geneva even at 3-3.
The Golden Tornadoes then broke through for three runs in the ninth. Sackett, Lemansky and Babu drove in runs, putting Geneva in great shape to pick up the win. Unfortunately, the Tomcats scored four times in the bottom of the ninth to grab the walk-off win, 7-6.
Freshman Michael Twigg picked up two of Geneva's eight hits, while Craft pitched eight innings for another strong start.
Sophomore Ryan Conover got the start in game two, and the Tomcats struck for three runs in the first to put Geneva in an early hole.
The Golden Tornadoes got two of those runs back in the top of the second inning. Lemansky doubled to start the inning, and he later came in to score on an RBI-groundout from Hull. Two batters later, senior David Toruno drove in a second run with an RBI-double.
Conover settled down a little after the tough first inning. Thiel was able to push across two runs in the third, but Geneva pulled back within one in the top of the fourth on a two-run home run from Hull.
Conover got the shutdown inning in the bottom of the fourth by retiring the Tomcats in order, and the Geneva offense struck again in the fifth.
Senior Tim Hermansen led off the inning with a single, and Sackett followed with a single. Sophomore Kirk Bearjar added third straight single, driving home Hermansen. A double play seemed to stem the tide, but after a walk to McGuire put two on with two out, Hull drove in two more runs with an RBI-double to put Geneva up 7-5.
The offense added three more runs in the top of the sixth. Twigg and Hermansen led off with walks, and Sackett drove in both with a triple. Sackett later scored on a wild pitch to extend Geneva's lead to 10-5.
Thiel's offense answered with two runs in the bottom of the frame, but it could have been worse. Junior reliever Jeff Hawkins got out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam when Toruno snagged a line drive up the middle and stepped on second for a double play.
Geneva's offense put the game away in the top of the eighth. The Golden Tornadoes scored four times, with another Sackett triple getting things started. Bearjar drove in Sackett with a single, and McGuire and Babu had RBI-singles later in the inning. McGuire scored the final run of the game on a wild pitch.
Hawkins finished out the game with scoreless eighth and ninth innings to earn the victory with four strong innings of relief.
Sackett led the offense with four hits, including two triples, along with three runs and two RBIs. Bearjar added three hits and two RBIs, while Hull went 2-for-5 with a double, a home run and five RBIs. McGuire and Babu each added two hits, while McGuire scored three times. As a team Geneva finished with 17 hits.
Geneva immediately returns to action tomorrow with a doubleheader at Grove City beginning at 1:00 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).
