CLERMONT, Fla. – The Geneva College softball team opened its season on Saturday morning in Florida on the first day of Spring Break, and the Golden Tornadoes came away with a split of their two games. Geneva began the day with an 8-0 shutout of New England College in five innings, and then the Golden Tornadoes dropped the second game of the day to Wartburg, 9-3.
Senior Nicole West (Glenwood, Md./McDonogh) took the circle in the first game against New England. A walk and a single put runners at second and third with one out in the top of the first, but West struck out the next two batters to get out of the jam. It would prove to be the only trouble West found herself in all game.
Senior Sarah Johnson (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) opened the bottom of the first with an infield single. She stole second and third, and then scored on an error to get Geneva on the board. Later in the inning, senior Sidney Young (Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum) came through with a big 2-out, 2-RBI triple to give Geneva a 3-0 lead after one inning. That would be all the offense West would need.
West cruised through the next two innings, and then the Golden Tornadoes offense broke the game open in the bottom of the third with a 2-out rally. Geneva had two runners on with two outs when sophomore Elishea Reed (Lanse, Pa./West Branch) singled to load the bases. Sophomore Julia Hart (Prospect, Pa./Slippery Rock) then cleared the bases with a double to right-centerfield. Senior Victoria Baker (Havelock, N.C./Havelock) followed with a double to drive Hart home, and then senior Madison Smith (Joshua Tree, Calif./Yucca Valley) followed with a single to drive Baker in, extending the Geneva lead to 8-0.
West took it from there, keeping New England off the board. She struck out the final batter of the top of the fifth to end the game. West's final line was impressive, giving up just two hits and three walks while striking out seven. Hart and Young each went 2-for-2 with a combined five RBIs, while Reed and junior Peri Ceasri (El Dorado, Calif./Vista Del Lago) each scored twice.
Junior Haley Smith (Joshua Tree, Calif./Yucca Valley) took the ball in the second game, and a hit batter, a walk and an error led to two runs for Wartburg in the first inning, with the only hit of the inning a bunt.
Geneva had a chance for a big inning in the bottom of the second, loading the bases with no one out, but the Golden Tornadoes could only generate one run on an RBI-single from Johnson to pull Geneva within one run.
Wartburg answered right back in the top of the third inning, with a couple more Geneva errors helping the Knights score four more times to take a 6-1 lead. Wartburg then knocked Smith out of the game in the top of the fourth, scoring twice. Geneva scored twice in the bottom of the inning, with Wartburg closing out the scoring with a run in the top of the seventh, 9-3.
Geneva managed just four hits offensively. Haley Smith took the loss, pitching 3.2 innings while giving up eight runs, four earned.
"Nikki was obviously really good the first game and got us off to a good start," said Head Coach Van Zanic. "Wartburg is a really tough matchup on our first day of the season, though, especially after they've been playing all week. They will be one of the toughest teams we face all week. They put so much pressure on you defensively with the way they play, and we didn't respond well to their pressure. I didn't feel like they really had a lot of hard-hit balls, but we made too many errors and gave up too many free baserunners, and they made us pay."
Geneva will be back in action on Monday with two games, beginning with Ohio Wesleyan at 11:00 a.m., followed with Husson at 1:15 p.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 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).
