GREENVILLE, Pa. – The Geneva College softball team continued its standout season on Friday by shutting out Thiel on Friday afternoon in a doubleheader by identical scores of 8-0, with both games finishing in five innings.  In the process, the Golden Tornadoes surpassed 30 wins for just the fourth time in school history, and junior Sarah Johnson (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) tied the single-season hits record with 66.  She also has the most hits this season in NCAA Division III.  Geneva improved to 31-5, 14-2 in the Presidents' Athletics Conference (PAC), while Thiel fell to 1-29, 1-15 in the PAC.

Junior Nicole West (Glenwood, Md./McDonogh) took the circle in game one, and Geneva gave her three runs of immediate support, with sophomore Peri Ceasri (El Dorado Hills, Cali./Vista Del Lago) doubling home one run, West driving in another with a single, and a third run scoring on a Tomcat error.

Geneva added three more runs in the top of the third, with West and senior Madison Schultz (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) each contributing an RBI-single.

West was cruising at that point, retiring 11 of the first 12 batters she faced, including five straight strikeouts at one point.  Ceasri drove in another run in the fourth, and Johnson added an RBI-single in the fifth to make to it 8-0, and West closed out the victory in the bottom the inning.

West improved her record to 14-2 by giving up just two singles in her five innings, while striking out seven.  She also greatly helped her cause offensively, going 3-for-3 with a run and two RBIs.  Johnson, Schultz and sophomore Madison Forsythe (Trafford, Pa./Penn Trafford) each added two hits apiece.

Sophomore Haley Smith (Joshua Tree, Cali./Yucca Valley) took the ball in game two, and she was equally as effective in the circle.  The offense provided her with early run support as well, as sophomore Hannah Raygor (Germantown, Md./Seneca Valley) doubled home Johnson in the first inning, and Ceasri drove Raygor in to make it 2-0.

A leadoff double by West led to a run in the second for the Golden Tornadoes, and then Geneva broke the game open in the fifth with five runs.  After the first batter was retired, Forsythe, Raygor, Ceasri, senior Marina Manuppelli (Mars, Pa./Mars), West and Schultz each singled, leading to Geneva's big inning, increasing the Golden Tornado lead to 8-0.

West closed out the game in the bottom of the fifth, with Smith earning the win to move her record to 16-3.  She gave up just two hits and two walks, while striking out five, in her four innings of work.

Offensively, Forsythe, Raygor, West and Schultz each finished with two hits in the game, with West driving in two runs and Raygor scoring twice.

"I'm excited for the ladies to reach the 30-win mark this season," said Head Coach Van Zanic.  "They have taken care of business when it counts most of the year, so we are grateful to have an opportunity to do something special tomorrow."

Geneva finishes out the regular season tomorrow with a home doubleheader against W&J beginning at 1:00 p.m.  If the Golden Tornadoes can win both games, they will secure the top seed in the PAC Playoffs and host the PAC tournament next weekend.


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).