WAYNESBURG, Pa. – Junior outfielder Sarah Johnson (Highlands Ranch, CO) is perhaps the most soft-spoken student-athlete on Geneva's campus. Although she does not say much, it has been her bat that has done most of her talking throughout the spring. On Saturday, Johnson posted another dynamic day at the plate in helping the Golden Tornadoes to a pair of victories at Waynesburg by the scores of 12-7 and 7-3. The doubleheader sweep moved Geneva's overall record to 26-4, including a 9-1 mark in Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play. Meanwhile, Waynesburg fell to 11-13 overall and 2-4 in the PAC.
 
Johnson has served as the spark plug for a Geneva offense that has been explosive all season. Saturday proved to be more of the same as the junior outfielder, who saw her season batting average rise to a PAC-best .495, sparked Geneva immediately in game one with a lead-off single. She came around to score as part of a double steal with Madison Forsythe (Trafford, PA) taking second while Johnson swiped home. Johnson struck again in the third inning with a lead off double before being chased home on sacrifice fly from Hannah Raygor (Germantown, MD). Marina Manuppelli (Mars, PA) scored Geneva's third run after opening the fourth inning with a double and scoring on a Waynesburg error.
 
The Yellow Jackets scored single runs in the fourth and fifth innings to pull within a run, but in the top of the sixth Geneva's offense came up with its most explosive inning of the season. The Golden Tornadoes plated nine runs on eight hits before registering the first out of the inning. The two big blasts of the inning came off the bats of Raygor and Manuppelli, both of which left the yard with home runs. It was Raygor's fourth dinger of the season while Manuppelli launched her third homer of the year. Waynesburg did its best to try and respond and did manage to post five runs of its own in the bottom of the sixth inning, but Geneva closed the door in the seventh and held on for another conference win.
 
Nicole West (Glenwood, MD) got the victory in the circle and improved to 12-2 on the season. West pitched five innings and allowed three earned runs on six hits while striking out six. Haley Smith (Joshua Tree, CA) pitched a scoreless seventh inning with one walk and one strikeout. Geneva banged out 15 hits in game one, including four hits from Johnson and two each from Forsythe, Manuppelli and Madison Schultz (Cranberry Twp, PA). Raygor finished the game with four RBI's.
 
Waynesburg drew first blood in game two with a run in the bottom of the third. That lead was short-lived as the Golden Tornadoes quickly responded with a three-spot in the top of the fourth. Manuppelli's RBI-single tied the score, and Schultz provided a sacrifice fly that scored Peri Ceasri (El Dorado Hills, CA), with Manuppelli scoring on an errant throw on the same play.
 
The Yellow Jackets scored again in the bottom of the fourth, but the Golden Tornadoes stretched things out again with a four-run rally in the top of the sixth. Schultz provided another RBI-single to start the scoring before Madison Smith (Joshua Tree, CA) came up with a two-run single that plated Schultz and pinch runner Rachael Cardenas (Homestead, FL). Johnson provided the final run of the day with an RBI-single, which was her sixth base hit of the day.
 
Haley Smith went the distance for her 13^th victory of the season. She pitched seven innings and allowed three earned runs on nine hits while striking out six. Geneva's offense collected ten hits in the night cap with two each coming from Johnson, Raygor and West.
 
"I was extremely proud of our team today," said Head Coach Van Zanic. "We saw a great example of how when our ladies get challenged, they are able to accept that responsibility and respond in the only way a good team should, which is by putting runs on the board. I have said multiple times this season that I felt we had a very special group, and today was yet another example of how they are able to come together in a key moment, support each other and find ways to get the job done. It was fun to watch a bunch of ladies battle and accept nothing less than victory."
 
Geneva will travel to Carnegie Mellon Tuesday for a non-conference doubleheader before returning home on Wednesday for a PAC doubleheader against Chatham University scheduled to begin at 3:30 pm.


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 has one of the top 100 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. Geneva was founded and is governed by the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA) and is a founding member of both the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) and IACE (International Association for Christian Education).