CLERMONT, Fla. – The Geneva College softball team had one of its biggest comebacks in recent memory on Friday in Florida. After the Golden Tornadoes easily won game one against Pitt-Greensburg, 8-1, Geneva found itself down by seven runs in the bottom of the sixth inning against Thomas College in the second game of the day. The Golden Tornadoes responded, though, with an 11-run inning to come back for an 11-7 victory. The two wins moves Geneva's record to 6-2 overall, including five straight victories.
Junior Haley Smith (Joshua Tree, Calif./Yucca Valley) got the ball in game one against Pitt-Greensburg, just three days after senior Nicole West (Glenwood, Md./McDonogh) no-hit the Bobcats on Tuesday. The Geneva offense gave Smith two runs before she had even stepped into the circle. Senior Sarah Johnson (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) led off the game with a single, and she immediately stole second. Senior Madison Smith (Joshua Tree, Calif./Yucca Valley) drove in Johnson with a single up the middle, and then later in the inning, sophomore Julia Hart (Prospect, Pa./Slippery Rock) drove home Smith to make it 2-0.
The Golden Tornadoes added two more runs in the top of the second. Senior Paige Dill (Youngstown, Ohio/Boardman) doubled and scored on a single from Johnson. Johnson then stole second again, and she scored on another single from Madison Smith.
Johnson added an RBI-single in the top of the third to make it 5-0. Pitt-Greensburg got its only run of the game in the bottom of the inning on a 2-out double.
Geneva put the game away with three runs in the top of the sixth. Junior Madison Forsythe (Trafford, Pa./Penn-Trafford) doubled home Johnson. West singled home Forsythe, and later in the inning junior Danielle Goodman (Glen Burie, Md./Calvary Baptist) added an RBI-single.
Haley Smith took it from there, earning her third win of the season by pitching all seven innings while giving up six hits, one run, three walks and striking out six batters.
Johnson led the offense with a 3-for-3 effort, scoring three runs, driving in two runs, stealing two bases and walking once. Dill also finished with three hits, while Madison Smith, West and Hart each had two hits, with the Geneva offense supplying 16 hits in the game.
West got the ball in game two against Thomas, and the Terriers struck first with two runs in the top of the third.
Geneva's offense was silent for most of the game, and in the fourth, Thomas added four runs, all unearned after a Golden Tornado error, and the Terriers added a run in the top of the sixth inning to give Thomas a big 7-0 advantage.
To that point through five innings, Geneva had managed just three singles offensively. Everything changed in the bottom of the sixth, though.
The first seven batters reached base on four singles, a double, a walk and an error. By the time the first out of the inning was recorded, Geneva had pulled within 7-5 and had runners at second and third. That first out did little to slow down the offense, though, as the Golden Tornadoes ended up scoring 11 times in the inning. West had two RBI-doubles in the frame, while Johnson had two singles, Forsythe reached base twice on a single and hit-by-pitch, and Madison Smith had two RBI-singles. In total, 16 Golden Tornadoes batted before Thomas finally recorded the third out.
Haley Smith relieved West in the top of the seventh, and the stunned Terriers went in order quickly as Geneva finished off the 11-7 comeback victory.
West picked up her third win of the season with Geneva's big offensive outburst in the sixth. She pitched 6.0 innings and gave up 13 hits and seven runs (three earned), while striking out five.
West helped her own cause at the plate, finishing with three hits and two RBIs. Madison Smith had two hits, two runs and two RBIs. Johnson contributed two hits, two runs, an RBI and a steal, while senior Sidney Young (Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum) and sophomore Elishea Reed (Lanse, Pa./West Branch) both finished with two hits, a run and an RBI.
"You never really expect to come back from that much that late in the game," said Head Coach Van Zanic. "We were pretty lifeless offensively for most of the game, but it's just a testament to this team and their ability to preserve. After the season we put together last year, this team just never believes it's ever out of a game. That was about as bad as it gets there for a while, but it was obviously a very rewarding end to the game."
Geneva finishes up its play in Florida tomorrow with two games, and it may represent its toughest day of the week. The Golden Tornadoes face Wittenberg at 1:00 p.m., followed by a game with nationally ranked Alfred at 3:00 p.m. There is rain in the forecast for tomorrow, so both games could get rained out.
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).
