BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – On Wednesday afternoon the Geneva College softball team opened the home portion of its schedule by hosting Pitt-Greensburg for a doubleheader.  Both teams entered the game on losing streaks, and both teams ended those streaks by picking up a win on the day.  Pitt-Greensburg won the first game, 7-3, while Geneva rebounded in game two to win 7-5.  Geneva's record is now 6-10, while Pitt-Greensburg is 4-10.

One thing that plagued the Golden Tornadoes on their recently completed trip in Florida was defensive mistakes, and that trend continued in game one.  Geneva committed three errors in the top of the first inning that enabled the Bobcats to score three unearned runs off freshman starting pitcher Paige Hollinger (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin).

Geneva battled back in the next two innings.  Hollinger drove in a run with an RBI-double in the second inning, and Hollinger later scored on a groundout to make it 3-2.  The Golden Tornadoes then tied things up with a run in the third inning on an RBI-single from sophomore Madison Schultz (Cranberry Twp., Pa./Seneca Valley).

However, Pitt-Greensburg put together a big inning in the top of the fifth.  Six of the first seven batters reached base to start the inning, with the Bobcats using five singles and walk to score four times before Geneva could get out of the inning.  The Golden Tornadoes couldn't get their offense going the rest of the game, falling by the 7-3 score.

Geneva's five errors in the game led to four unearned runs.  Hollinger took the loss after going 4.1 innings while giving up 11 hits and seven runs, just three that were earned.  Schultz was 2-for-2 with a run and an RBI, while freshman Sarah Johnson (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) went 2-for-4 with a run.

Things started much better for Geneva in the second game.  Junior Bobbi Ann Theiss (East Liverpool, Ohio/Beaver Local) made her first start of the season, and she managed to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the first inning to keep the game scoreless.

Geneva's offense came to life in the bottom of the inning.  Freshman Nicole West (Glenwood, Md./McDonogh) lined a double into the left-field gap that drove in two runs, and then freshman Alivia Acierno (Oakmont, Pa./Riverview) drove in two runs with a two-out single to put Geneva up 4-0.

The Golden Tornadoes added three more runs in the bottom of the second, as freshman Emma Gilmore (Marlton, N.J./Cherokee) and Hollinger had RBI-singles, making it 7-0.

Theiss cruised into the sixth inning where she finally tired.  Pitt-Greensburg struck for five runs in the top of the inning, aided by another Geneva error, to make things close again.  Sophomore Vanessa Templeton (Middlebourne, W.Va./Tyler Consolidated) relieved Thiess and got Geneva out of the inning, keeping the score 7-5.  Templeton then retired the Bobcats in order in the top of the seventh to pick up the save.

Theiss earned her first win of the season, going 5.1 innings while giving up 10 hits and five runs, though just three were earned.  Johnson went 2-for-3 with two runs and three stolen bases.  Sophomore Kyleigh Jo Ward (Laceyville, Pa./Wyalusing) finished 2-for-2 with two doubles and a run.  Both West and Acierno were 1-for-3 with two RBIs, while Gilmore was 1-for-3 with two runs and an RBI.

"We got some production from some different players today, which was nice to see," said Head Coach Van Zanic.  "But defensively we are struggling and we need to clean things up to reach our goals."

Geneva travels to Penn State Altoona on Saturday for a double-header starting at 2:00 p.m.  The Golden Tornadoes return home next Wednesday, March 27, for a doubleheader with Allegheny College starting at 3:30 p.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.