STEUBENVILLE, Ohio – The Geneva College softball team was coming off its best day of the season, after sweeping Saint Vincent on Saturday, when the Golden Tornadoes headed to Franciscan for a doubleheader on Monday afternoon. Geneva won game one, 7-5, but five Baron runs in the final inning of game two allowed Franciscan to come back for a 9-8 victory, stealing away the victory. Geneva's record is now 17-13 overall, 7-7 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Franciscan is 6-18, 2-10 in the PAC.
Senior Nicole West (Glenwood, Md./McDonogh) got the start in game one, and Geneva got on the board in the first inning when junior Madison Forsythe (Trafford, Pa./Penn-Trafford) drove home senior Sarah Johnson (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) with a sacrifice fly.
The Barons answered back with single runs in the first and second innings to take their first lead. Geneva responded when sophomore Julia Hart (Prospect, Pa./Slippery Rock) and West drove home runs in the top of the third, but Franciscan tied the game in the bottom of the inning with another run, 3-3.
Hart put Geneva back ahead when she drove a pitch over the centerfield wall for a two-run home run in the top of the fifth. The Golden Tornadoes added two insurance runs in the top of the seventh on a wild pitch and an RBI-single from junior Peri Ceasri (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Vista Del Lago), which proved very important when the Barons scored two runs in the bottom the inning before Geneva finished out the victory, 7-5.
West earned her eighth win of the season, pitching all seven innings while giving up eight hits and five runs.
Offensively, Forsythe led the team with a 3-for-3 effort, including two runs and one RBI. Senior Madison Smith (Joshua Tree, Calif./Yucca Valley) added two hits and two runs. Johnson scored twice, while Hart drove in two runs.
Junior Haley Smith (Joshua Tree, Calif./Yucca Valley) got the start in game two, and the Barons got on the board first when they scored two runs in the first inning.
Geneva got on the board in the fourth when West led off with a home run. The Golden Tornadoes scored two more later in the inning on a wild pitch and an RBI-single from Johnson. Franciscan answered right back in the bottom of the inning, though, to tie the game up at 3-3.
Geneva retook the lead in the top of the fifth. Freshman Megan Gray (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) drove home a run with a single, and West stole home later in the inning for another Golden Tornado run. Geneva added three more runs in the top of the sixth on two errors and another RBI-single from Gray to make it 8-3.
Franciscan got one back in the sixth, but the Golden Tornadoes looked to be in full control heading into the final inning, leading 8-4.
However, the Franciscan bats came alive in the bottom of the seventh, coming up with six hits, leading to five runs and allowing the Barons to walk off with a 9-8 victory.
Johnson and Gray led the offense with three hits apiece, while Hart, West and junior Danielle Goodman (Glen Burnie, Md./Calvary Baptist) each finished with two hits.
Geneva will return home for its final home doubleheader of the season on Wednesday when the Golden Tornadoes host Thiel at 3:30 p.m. Geneva will recognize seven seniors on the softball team prior to the first game.
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).
