BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College softball team headed into the final day of the regular season on Saturday knowing it would have to defeat Grove City twice in order to qualify for the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) playoffs.  Grove City came into the doubleheader needing to do the exact same thing, as both teams entered with identical 7-7 PAC records.  With everything at stake, the Golden Tornadoes came up big when it mattered most, sweeping the Wolverines by scores of 7-3 and 4-3, the last win coming in dramatic walk-off fashion.  Geneva improved its record to 19-17, 9-7 in the PAC, while Grove City fell to 13-14, 7-9 in the PAC.

The first game could not have started much better.  Junior starter Bobbi Ann Theiss (East Liverpool, Ohio/Beaver Local) retired Grove City in order in the top of the first, and Geneva struck for three early runs in the bottom of the inning, all with two outs.  After the first two Golden Tornadoes were retired, freshman Nicole West (Glenwood, Md./McDonogh) walked and sophomore Marina Manuppelli (Mars, Pa./Mars) singled to put two runners on.  Junior April Lude (Canfield, Ohio/Western Reserve) singled home one run, and then freshman Paige Hollinger (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin) doubled to drive in two more, giving Geneva a 3-0 lead.

Theiss pitched around some trouble over the next four innings to keep Grove City off the board, and Geneva added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI-single from Hollinger and an RBI-triple from sophomore Kyleigh Jo Ward (Laceyville, Pa./Wyalusing), increasing Geneva's lead to 5-0.

Grove City finally got on the board against Theiss in the top of the sixth.  The first three Wolverines of the inning doubled, leading to three runs, which cut Geneva's lead to 5-3.  Sophomore Vanessa Templeton (Middlebourne, W.Va./Tyler Consolidated) entered in relief of Theiss, picking up the last out of the inning to get Geneva out of the inning without further damage.

Geneva answered those runs with two runs in the bottom of the inning, with Manuppelli driving in one on a groundout and Lude driving in the second with a double.

Templeton worked around a two-out double in the top of the seventh to finish off the game, picking up her fifth save of the season.  Theiss got the win, improving her record to 9-2.  Lude finished 3-for-4 with a run and two RBIs, while Manuppelli also went 3-for-4, scoring once and driving in one.  Hollinger finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs, while freshman Sarah Johnson (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) went 2-for-4 with a run and a stolen base.

West took the ball in game two, and she was dominant for the first six innings.  She retired the first nine batters and 18 of the first 19 Wolverines, giving up just one single.

Manuppelli's two run blast in the bottom of the third got Geneva on the board, and Lude added a homer of her own in the bottom of the sixth, giving Geneva a 3-0 lead, which looked more than enough heading into the seventh with the way West was pitching.

With its season on the line, however, Grove City managed to fight back.  Two of the first three batters reached base after the Wolverines had only one base runner in the first six innings, and then Haley Deitz sent a pitch over the right field fence to tie the game at 3-3.

Despite the shock of that turn of events, the Golden Tornadoes responded.  West got out of the inning without further damage, and Geneva rallied in the bottom of the inning, taking advantage of a Grove City error.  With one out, Johnson walked and stole second base.  West then reached on an error, moving Johnson to third.  Manuppelli followed with a fly ball to right field, which the Grove City outfielder ended up dropping, but the ball was hit deep enough that Johnson would have tagged up and scored either way, and the Golden Tornadoes stamped their ticket to the playoffs in walk-off fashion, 4-3.

West picked up the victory, pitching all seven innings, giving up five hits and three runs while striking out six.  Geneva managed just five hits itself, but the Golden Tornadoes made them count.  Manuppelli led the way, going 1-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs.  Lude also went 1-for-3 with a home run, while Johnson was the only player in the game to manage multiple hits, going 2-for-3 with three stolen bases and the game-winning run.

"I'm really happy for our seniors who will get a chance to experience the playoffs for the first time," said Head Coach Van Zanic.  "We got two more really good performances in the circle and were able to get some key hits along the way.  We haven't made things easy on ourselves all year, and today was no different.  But after watching a three-run lead disappear in the top of the seventh inning, it shows great character to come back and get the win, which we had to have.  We're grateful to be in the tournament where we know anything can happen."

Geneva will travel to the host Saint Vincent to begin the PAC playoffs on Thursday.  The official tournament pairings will be released on Monday by 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.