BEAVER FALLS, Pa. (April 6) – The Waynesburg University baseball team traveled north to Geneva for a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) doubleheader with the Golden Tornadoes. It was a long, cold day on the diamond for the Yellow Jackets, who suffered a two-game sweep.
 
Geneva (15-3, 4-1) took game one 10-0 in eight innings. Waynesburg (5-15, 1-5) looked primed to pull out a split by taking a 7-5 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning of game two. Unfortunately, the bullpen couldn't hold the lead and the GT's walked off with an 8-7 victory.
 
Defensive lapses played a significant role in the opener, as the Jackets committed four errors that led to three early unearned runs off senior starting pitcher Noah Lolley. Lolley was solid in the start, giving up just three unearned on five hits and one walk over six innings of work.
 
A trio of Waynesburg relievers gave up seven runs over the final one inning-plus before the game ended with one out on the board in the bottom of the eighth.
 
Seven different Jackets combined to produce eight hits in game one. Sophomore shortstop Vinny Monico had two of those base knocks.
 
Geneva opened up game two by scoring a run in the bottom of the first inning and added two more in the third to take a 3-0 lead into the top of the fifth. It was then that the Waynesburg bats finally got rolling for the road team.
 
Sophomore right fielder Brenden Kohan got the Orange and Black on the board with a two-run double that cut Geneva's lead to 3-2. Freshman third baseman Tyler Srbinovich followed with a single and an error that allowed Kohan to score the tying run.
 
The Jackets took their first lead of the day (4-3) in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by senior leftfielder Tyler Godwin. Kohan followed with an RBI single during the ensuing at-bat to double his team's advantage to 5-3.
 
Two innings later, the Waynesburg edge expanded to 7-3 thanks to a two-run single by Godwin. Even after Geneva cut into its four-run deficit with a pair of scores in the bottom of the eighth, the Jackets still led 7-5 going into the top of the ninth.
 
Unfortunately, the GT's not only kept Waynesburg from expanding its lead, but used two singles, a triple and a sacrifice fly to pull out the win.
 
Junior Brandon Lawless got the start on the mound for Waynesburg and allowed three runs, all earned, on four hits and three walks over 2.2 innings of work. Freshman Zach Straub was stellar out of the bullpen. The rookie didn't allow a run over 3.2 innings and managed to scatter five hits and a walk over that same time span.
 
Srbinovich suffered the loss after moving from third base to pitcher in the seventh. He gave up five earned runs on five hits and three walks, while also notching a pair of strikeouts.
 
Kohan and junior centerfielder Mitch Nordstrom recorded two hits each in the late contest to pace the Jacket offense. Seven of the nine hitters in Waynesburg's lineup picked up at least one knock in the heart-breaking defeat.
 
The Jackets will have to shake out off Friday's disappointing road trip in a hurry as they are scheduled to host Westminster tomorrow. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.