WAYNESBURG, Pa. – It wasn't the result Golden Tornadoes, who came into Monday riding a four-game winning streak, were hoping for when they traveled down to Waynesburg for a doubleheader against the last-place Yellow Jackets, but Geneva came home with a split, losing game one, 1-0, before winning game two, 9-1.  Geneva is now 17-15, 7-5 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Waynesburg stands at 7-23, 3-9 in the PAC.

Geneva struggled offensively in game one against Waynesburg starter Courtney Messenger.  A week after averaging seven runs a game, the Golden Tornadoes failed to score, managing just four hits in the contest.  Only once did Geneva get a runner to second base.

Freshman starter Nicole West (Glenwood, Md./McDonogh) pitched one of her best games of the season.  Her lone mistake was a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the second by Alex Lawrence.  She threw a complete game, pitching 6.0 innings, giving up four hits, one walk and one run while striking out six.

Waynesburg sent Messenger back out to pitch game two, and Geneva struck for two runs in the first inning, helped by two Yellow Jacket errors, a theme that would continue throughout the game.

Geneva broke the game open with three runs in the top of the fifth, with three more errors by Waynesburg contributing to the damage.

The Yellow Jackets scored their only run off junior starting pitcher Bobbi Ann Theiss (East Liverpool, Ohio/Beaver Local) in the bottom of the fifth, but the Golden Tornadoes put the game away with four runs in the top of the sixth, with senior Haley Sainato (New Castle, Pa./Mohawk) and sophomore Marina Manuppelli picking up RBI-doubles.  Geneva closed out the win, 9-1, in six innings.

Theiss moved her record to 8-1 on the season, pitching all six innings, giving up six hits and one run while striking out two.  Sainato went 2-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and one RBI.  West finished 2-for-4 as well, scoring three times.  Sophomore Melice Rodriguez (Caldwell, Idaho/Vallivue) also contributed two hits.

"I was worried the break came at the wrong time, and we just couldn't generate anything offensively in the first game after having four days off," said Head Coach Van Zanic.  "We got two really great pitching efforts and I believe it is the first doubleheader all year where we didn't commit an error.  We responded well in game two, and now we need to prepare for four big games that will determine our playoff fate."

Geneva finishes its regular season with three doubleheaders this week.  The Golden Tornadoes play at Thiel on Wednesday, and then close with home doubleheaders against Franciscan on Thursday and Grove City on Saturday.  Geneva currently sits in a tie for second in the PAC with Thiel, one spot ahead of Grove City.  The top four teams make the PAC playoffs.


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.