CLERMONT, Fla. – The Geneva College softball team continued its week-long stretch in Florida on Friday, and both games it played went down to the final out.  After losing a late lead and falling to Mount St. Joseph University, 3-2, in the first game, the Golden Tornadoes came up with a walk-off win in extra innings against the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in the second game, 6-5.  Geneva's record is now 4-6, with a 4-4 mark since arriving in Florida on Monday.

Sophomore Kyleigh Jo Ward (Laceyville, Pa./Wyalusing) took the ball in the first game against Mount St. Joseph, and two Geneva errors in the top of the first inning led to a run for the Lions.  However, Ward would pitch well from there, keeping Mount St. Joseph scoreless over the next four innings.

Geneva's offense finally broke through in the top of the fifth inning, courtesy of Ward, who drove in two with a single to left to give the Golden Tornadoes a 2-1 lead.

The Lions opened the bottom of the sixth inning with a leadoff triple, leading to the tying run, and then a close call at first base with two outs went Mount St. Joseph's way, enabling the Lions to take a 3-2 lead heading into the final inning.

Geneva looked poised to rally back after getting its first two runners on base in the top of the seventh.  Both baserunners moved up with one out, but Ward's soft line drive down the left field line that would have scored both runners went just foul, and the Golden Tornadoes ultimately failed to plate either runner, losing 3-2.

Ward pitched all six innings, giving up five hits and two earned runs while striking out four.  Ward also drove in both runs for Geneva.  Freshman Nicole West (Glenwood, Md./McDonogh) finished 2-for-3 with a run.

In the second game of the day against Wisconsin Stevens-Point, a Geneva error with two outs in the first inning led to two unearned runs for the Pointers against West, who started the second game, putting Geneva in an early hole.

However, the Golden Tornadoes responded with three runs in the bottom of the second, highlighted by a two-out, two-RBI single from senior Haley Sainato (New Castle, Pa./Mohawk).

Wisconsin-Stevens Point tied things back up with a run in the top of the fourth, but junior April Lude (Canfield, Ohio/Western Reserve) picked up a big two-out, two-RBI double in the bottom of the sixth to give Geneva a 5-3 lead.

Unfortunately, Geneva couldn't hold onto the lead in the top of the seventh.  After West walked back-to-back batters with one out, Head Coach Van Zanic brought in sophomore Vanessa Templeton (Middlebourne, W.Va./Tyler Consolidated) in relief, and after getting an out, Wisconsin-Stevens Point came up with a two-out hit to drive both runners in to tie the score.  Geneva failed to score in the bottom of the inning, sending the game to extra innings.

Sophomore Marina Manuppelli (Mars, Pa./Mars) came up with the defensive play of the game in the top of the eighth with runners at second and third and just one out.  Manuppelli, playing third, dove to snag a hard line drive in the air, and then dove back the other way to tag the runner trying to scramble back to third base, ending the inning.

The Golden Tornadoes would immediately take advantage.  With each team starting with a runner on second base in extra innings, Geneva quickly loaded the bases with no outs in its half of the inning, and sophomore Madison Schultz (Cranberry Twp., Pa./Seneca Valley) drove home the winning run with a single up the middle.

Templeton picked up her first win of the season with 1.2 innings of scoreless relief.  Sainato was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a steal.  Sophomore Melice Rodriguez (Caldwell, Idaho/Vallivue) finished 2-for-3 with a run, while Lude went 1-for-2 with a walk, a run and two RBIs.

"These were two very competitive games," said Zanic.  "I've been very pleased with the level of competition we've been seeing down here.  I think that will set us up well for later in the season when we enter into conference games.  I'd like for us to be able to finish off some of these games a little better, but it was really nice to end the day with a big win, with Maddie coming up with the walk-off hit."

Geneva gets right back into action tomorrow with two more games in Florida, starting with a game against D'Youville College at 9:30 a.m.


Geneva College is a Christ-centered academic community that provides a comprehensive education to equip students for faithful and fruitful service to God and neighbor. Offering over 80 traditional undergraduate majors and programs, fully online Adult Degree Programs, and high-demand graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality. U.S. News & World Report ranks Geneva as a Top Three Best Value Regional University with one of the Top 100 engineering programs in the nation. Adhering to the truth of Scripture, a Geneva education is grounded in God's Word as well as in a core curriculum designed to prepare students vocationally to think, write and communicate well in today's world.