BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College softball team put together its best day of the season on Wednesday, sweeping a home doubleheader with Allegheny College.  Geneva got contributions from a number of players, including freshman Nicole West (Glenwood, Md./McDonogh), who pitched a complete-game shutout in game one in a 5-0 win, and then she drove in four runs in game two in a 6-3 victory.  Geneva improved to 8-10, while Allegheny fell to 4-10.

West took the circle in game one and promptly struck out the first two batters she faced.  It was a sign of things to come.

Geneva took the lead in its half of the first inning when senior Haley Sainato (New Castle, Pa./Mohawk) singled, stole both second and third base, and scored on a throwing error by the catcher.

Sophomore Madison Schultz (Cranberry Twp., Pa./Seneca Valley) scored on a wild pitch in the second inning, and the Golden Tornadoes scored twice more in the fourth, the big hit an RBI-double from West.  Junior April Lude (Canfield, Ohio/Western Reserve) added an RBI-double in the sixth inning for the final run of the game.

That was more than enough offense for West, who never let an Allegheny runner past second base.  She pitched all seven innings, giving up five hits and one walk while striking out three.  Lude finished a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with an RBI, while Sainato went 2-for-3 with two runs and three stolen bases.

Junior Bobbi Ann Theiss (East Liverpool, Ohio/Beaver Local) took the ball in game two, and she put together a strong outing as well.  Allegheny finally got on the board for the day with a single run in the top of the third to take a brief lead.  Geneva answered back in its half of the third with a two-out RBI-single from West to tie the game at 1-1.

The Golden Tornadoes took control of things in the following inning.  Geneva scored five times in the fourth, four of the runs coming with two outs.  West had the big hit, clearing the bases with a two-out double to drive in three, making the score 6-1.

Theiss ran into trouble in the top of the sixth inning.  The Gators scored a run and loaded the bases with one out when Head Coach Van Zanic turned to sophomore Vanessa Templeton (Middlebourne, W.Va./Tyler Consolidated) to get the Golden Tornadoes out of the jam.  Templeton did just that, retiring the final two batters of the inning without giving up a run.

Templeton then finished things out in the seventh, giving up a run but closing out the 6-3 win for her third save of the season.  Theiss moved her record to 2-0, pitching 5.1 innings while giving up ten hits and two runs. 

Offensively, freshman Sarah Johnson (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) went 3-for-3 at the plate with two runs, an RBI and two stolen bases.  West was 2-for-3 with four RBIs, while Schultz also added two hits.

"Softball is a lot about pitching," said Zanic.  "When you get two pitching performances like we had today from Nikki and Bobbi Ann, it sets the table for wins.  Defensively it was our best day of the year, and we finally got some contributions today from players we really lean on like April, Marina, Maddie and Haley.  It was really the first complete day we put together all year."

Geneva hopes to carry this momentum into Saturday's home doubleheader against Saint Vincent, starting at 1:00 p.m.  The games are the Presidents' Athletic Conference openers for both teams, with Saint Vincent coming in as the preseason favorite in the conference.


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.