BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College softball team continued its recent hot streak with two dominating victories over Carnegie Mellon on Monday afternoon by scores of 6-1 and 11-3.  Geneva has now won seven straight games and moved its record to 11-3.  CMU dropped to 3-3.

Junior Nicole West (Glenwood, Md./McDonogh) took the ball in game one and put together a sterling performance in the circle.  Sophomore Peri Ceasri (El Dorado Hills, Cali./Vista Del Lago) delivered West an early run with an RBI-double in the bottom the first.

CMU tied the game up in the top of the third with an unearned run, but Geneva broke the game open in the bottom the third with a big inning, taking advantage of some wild pitching from CMU's starter Amanda Schwab.  The Golden Tornadoes scored five times in the frame, with Schwab hurting her own cause with three hit batters and a walk.  Seniors Marina Manuppelli (Mars, Pa./Mars) and Kyleigh Jo Ward (Laceyville, Pa./Wyalusing) had RBI-singles in the inning.

That was all the support West would need, as she finished off the complete-game victory without giving CMU a chance to get back into the game.  West pitched all seven innings to earn the win, moving her record to 5-1, giving up eight hits and one unearned run, while striking out three.  The Geneva offense managed just six hits, with Ceasri driving in two runs.

Sophomore Haley Smith (Joshua Tree, Cali./Yucca Valley) took the ball in game two, and she was just as impressive.  Manuppelli gave Smith three early runs with a bases-clearing double in the bottom of the first inning.

CMU pulled to within one run after scoring two unearned runs in the top of the third, and then CMU's Isabel Bermu tied the game in the top of the fourth with a drive over the left field fence.

Smith battled out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the fifth, and the Geneva offense scored twice in the bottom of the inning, courtesy of more CMU help.  The Tartan's pitcher Amanda Smith hit a batter, walked a batter, threw two wild pitches, and the CMU defense added an error as the Golden Tornadoes scored both runs with out the aid of a hit.

Geneva ended the game in the bottom of the sixth by scoring six times.  The first six batters reached base on four singles, a walk and an error, and then Manuppelli and West ended the game with back-to-back RBI-singles to run-rule CMU by a score of 11-3.

Smith earned her sixth win of the season by pitching all six innings while giving up six hits, three runs (one earned), while striking out five.

Manuppelli led the offense, going 2-for-4 with a double and four RBIs.  Junior Sarah Johnson (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) went 2-for-3 with two runs, an RBI and three stolen bases.  West finished 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI, while Ward and sophomore Madison Forsythe (Trafford, Pa./Penn-Trafford) each scored twice.

"We were very fortunate to have the opportunity to play a team the caliber of CMU," said Head Coach Van Zanic.  "They are very solid and we want to play good teams.  We are playing solid ourselves and again are getting contributions from many different players.  Today was all about Nikki and Haley in the circle, though.  They shut down an extremely good lineup, and pitching is where it all starts."

Geneva gets right back into action tomorrow when the Golden Tornadoes travel to Saint Vincent for a doubleheader beginning at 3:30 p.m.  Geneva will return home this Saturday for a doubleheader with Thiel beginning at 11:00 a.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 145 traditional undergraduate majors and programs, fully online Adult Degree Programs and high-demand graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality. Geneva is included on Kiplinger's Personal Finance's "2019 Best College Values" list and has one of the top undergraduate engineering programs in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report. 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.