GREENVILLE, Pa. – The Geneva College softball team had put itself in good position to make the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) playoffs heading into this week, but after Wednesday, the Golden Tornadoes have used up all the margin they had.  After splitting with last-placed Waynesburg on Monday, Geneva was swept by Thiel on Wednesday afternoon by scores of 7-5 and 2-0.  Thiel locked in its place in the PAC playoffs with the wins, moving its record to 17-23, 10-6 in the PAC, while Geneva fell to 17-17, 7-7 in the PAC.

The day started well for Geneva when the Golden Tornadoes scored twice in the top of the first inning of game one.  Senior Haley Sainato (New Castle, Pa./Mohawk) walked, and after Sainato stole second, freshman Sarah Johnson (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) followed with a bunt single, moving Sainato to third.  Johnson proceeded to steal second, and both runners came around to score on RBI-groundouts.

Thiel answered with a run in the bottom of the first off junior starter Bobbi Ann Theiss (East Liverpool, Ohio/Beaver Local), and the Tomcats followed that with a big inning in the second, scoring four times to knock Theiss out of the game.  Two of the Tomcat runs were unearned due to a Geneva error.

Geneva got a run back in the top of the third after Johnson led off with a triple and scored on a single from sophomore Marina Manuppelli (Mars, Pa./Mars), cutting the deficit to 5-3.  Thiel added single runs in the bottom of the fourth and sixth innings, though, as Thiel's Vanessa Falce proved to a problem for Geneva pitchers all day.

The Golden Tornadoes tried to stage a rally late, scoring twice in the seventh, helped by a Thiel throwing error, but Geneva could get no closer before losing, 7-5.

Theiss had her streak of five straight wins broken with the loss, dropping her season record to 8-2.  Johnson led the offense, going 3-for-4 with a triple, two runs and a stolen base.  Manuppelli finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs, while Sainato finished 1-for-3 with two runs and a stolen base.

Freshman Nicole West (Glenwood, Md./McDonogh) took the ball in game two and put together a strong performance.  Thiel scored a run on an RBI-double from Falce in the first, but West didn't give up another hit until Falce doubled to open the bottom of the sixth, leading to Thiel's second run.

Unfortunately for Geneva, the Golden Tornadoes could not get anything going against Thiel's starter Jessica Kelley, who also picked up the win in game one with a complete-game effort.  Johnson doubled with one out in the first, and Geneva stranded two baserunners in the third, but otherwise the Golden Tornadoes couldn't generate any offense in the second game against Kelley.  She gave up just four hits to pick up her second complete game of the day, shutting out Geneva, 2-0.

West picked up the hard-luck loss, throwing all six innings, giving up just four hits and two runs while striking out five.

"If you expect to be a playoff team, then you need to find a way to score on the same pitcher you've faced six times in the same day," said Head Coach Van Zanic.  "When you waste another great pitching performance, and when you do nothing offensively, you don't deserve to be in the playoffs."

Despite the losses, Geneva still controls its own destiny.  The Golden Tornadoes sit in a three-way tie with Grove City and Westminster for third place in the conference, with the top four teams making it to the postseason.  Geneva and Grove City play each other twice on Saturday, while Westminster has to finish its conference play with a doubleheader at first-place Saint Vincent on Saturday as well.  W&J and Bethany are also still alive for the postseason, only one game behind.


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.