BEAVER FALLS, Pa. - Baseball 17-16 (8-8) had their final PAC road trip of the regular season on Monday. The Cougars received a split, keeping them very much in playoff contention. Chatham beat Geneva in game one 11-9 and were defeated in game two 12-10.

In game one, there were five runs scored in the first five innings and then the teams went on an offensive explosion, scoring 15 runs in the final four innings. The Cougars led 7-1 after six innings but then the Golden Tornadoes managed to even the game up at 7-7 entering the ninth inning. After the first two Cougar bats got out, Chatham was able to score four runs with two outs to push them to victory in game one 11-9. In the ninth with two outs, Freshman Ty Blackburn walked and stole second and the next batter Sophomore Angelo DeLeonardis drew a walk. Senior Benny Dottle reached on an error to load the bases for Sophomore Peter Tadic. Tadic proceeded to rip a bases clearing double down the left field line. Sophomore Caleb Jones would then score Tadic on a single. Geneva scored two runs in the bottom half to give the Cougars a scare but were unable to score the tying runs.

Cougar starting pitcher Junior Dawson Morrow had a quality start that got him through six innings. Morrow gave up four hits, one run, five walks, and six strikeouts.

With six strikeouts in the contest, Morrow has 93 career strikeouts which makes him first in program history in that category. Morrow who now has 40 strikeouts this season, also sits at a 3.52, the lowest of his collegiate career.

The Cougars were outhit 16-15 but took advantage of four Golden Tornado errors. Five Cougars had at least two hits, including Senior Frankie DeLuca who surpassed 100 career hits with a 3-5 performance in the game one victory. Caleb Jones was 3-5, Freshman Brandon Bell was 2-4, Freshman Ty Blackburn was 2-4, and Junior Ty Cote was 2-4. 


Game two was a high scoring affair as well. Geneva scored a run in the first but put up a five spot in the second thanks to a grand slam off the bat of Golden Tornado lead-off hitter Michael Twigg. With Geneva leading 6-0 after two innings, the Cougars had a strong answer to cut into Geneva's lead. Senior Benny Dottle hit a two-run single and Peter Tadic, Caleb Jones, and Frankie DeLuca each had RBI singles in the inning that got Chatham within one. Chatham took the lead in the fifth when they scored three runs to lead 8-7. Brandon Bell led off with a triple and DeLuca hit a sac fly. Cote was hit by a pitch and the Freshman Ty Blackburn who's filling in for the injured Jake Bredl, hit a double into the left center gap. Dottle lined another single off the pitcher and Tadic found a hole thru the left side that scored Blackburn. Geneva answered with two to regain the lead 9-8. The Cougars continued to fight by tying the game in the seventh and eventually taking the lead once again. Jones cashed in an RBI single and Bell reached on an error to give the Cougars a 10-9 lead. Geneva scored three runs in the bottom half as neither team would go on to score in the eighth or ninth as Chatham was defeated 12-10.

The Cougars continue the improvements at the plate, tallying 17 hits. Tadic (4-6, 2 R, 2 RBI), DeLeonardis (2-4, 1 R), Dottle (3-5, 3 RBI, 1 R), Jones (3-6, 1 R, 2 R), Blackburn (3-5, 2 R).

With the split, Baseball moves to 18-17 (9-9). The Cougars will travel to Huntingdon, PA on Thursday to take on the Juniata College Eagles and wrap up non-conference play in 2024. The games are expected to start at 1 PM & 4 PM. 

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