MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The Geneva College baseball team wrapped up a successful Spring Break trip on Monday with a split of its final two games.  The Golden Tornadoes edged Plymouth State in game one, 7-6, before falling in the second game of the day to Western Connecticut State, 12-1.  Geneva's record now stands at 9-3 on the year.

Geneva gave the ball to senior ace Caleb Graft to start game one against Plymouth State, and he was very strong early.  The Golden Tornadoes gave him five runs of support in the bottom of the third inning, all with two outs, to give Geneva the initial advantage.

It didn't appear the Golden Tornadoes would put together a big inning after the first two batters were retired in the third, but the offense sprang to life after three straight singles from junior Aaron Babu, senior Zach Lemansky and junior Kirk Bearjar.  That plated two runs, and after freshman Marco Chenet walked, sophomore Michael Twigg singled both home, after they each advanced one base on a passed ball, to make it 4-0.  Twigg proceeded to steal second, and then he scored the final run of the inning on an RBI-single from sophomore Josh Hull.

Geneva's bats went silent, though, after that big two-out outburst, and the Panthers slowly began to rally.  Plymouth State scored once in the fourth and fifth innings, and then the Panthers knocked Graft out of the game with two more runs in the seventh inning to pull within one, 5-4. 

Plymouth State proceeded to take its first lead of the game with two runs off the Geneva bullpen in the top of the eighth, but the Geneva offense stirred to life in the bottom of the frame with a reponse.

Senior Zack Sackett singled with one out and advanced to second on a wild pitch.  After a second out was recorded, Babu came up with a big single to drive Sackett home.  Lemansky followed with a double to the wall in right centerfield, bringing home Babu with what proved to be the winning run.

Junior Ethan Blair, who had recorded the final out of the eighth inning, pitched a scoreless ninth, including a game-ending strikeout, to seal the win.

Blair ended up earning the win with 1.1 scoreless innings of relief, including three strikeouts.

Offensively, Twigg led the team with a perfect 3-for-3 effort at the plate, as well as a walk.  He tripled, scored once and drove in two runs.  Babu, Lemansky and sophomore Bradley McGuire each contributed two hits to the attack.

Geneva finished the trip with a single game against Western Connecticut State.  Sophomore Kaden Peeples earned the start in the second game of the day, and the Wolves jumped ahead early with a run in the bottom of the first inning.

Western Connecticut's offense kept producing in the second inning.  The Wolves got multiple runners on before lightning in the area forced a 30-minute delay.  Geneva never seemed to get on track after the delay.  The Wolves scored three times in each of the second and third innings once play resumed to pull away.

Geneva's only run came in the top of the sixth on an RBI from Babu, driving home Sackett.  The GT offense, which was so prolific all week, was held to just three hits while falling 12-1.

The baseball team will head home on Monday night and prepare for the start of Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play on Saturday when Geneva travels to preseason favorite W&J for a doubleheader starting at 1:00 p.m.