WASHINGTON, Pa. – There hasn't been much this season that has come easily for the Geneva College softball team, and that continued on Saturday when the Golden Tornadoes traveled to Washington & Jefferson for their final doubleheader of the regular season, in need of just one win to clinch a spot in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) playoffs.  Geneva lost game one, 5-4, but junior Haley Smith (Joshua Tree, Calif./Yucca Valley) came through in game two with a complete-game shutout, sending the Golden Tornadoes into the postseason with a 5-0 victory.  Geneva's record is now 19-15 overall, 9-9 in the PAC.

Senior Nicole West (Glenwood, Md./McDonogh) got the start in the circle in game one, and W&J jumped on her early for three runs, all coming with two outs, to put Geneva in an early hole.

The Golden Tornadoes had runners on base in each of the first three innings, but Geneva couldn't push any runs across, while the Presidents added another run in the fourth to take a 4-0 lead.

Geneva finally got on the board in the top of the fifth inning, courtesy the hottest Golden Tornado batter in the lineup, sophomore Julia Hart (Prospect, Pa./Slippery).  After the first two batters were retired, senior Sarah Johnson (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) singled, junior Madison Forsythe (Trafford, Pa./Penn-Trafford) was hit by a pitch, and then Hart crushed one over the center field wall to pull the Golden Tornadoes within 4-3.

That's where things stayed heading into the seventh inning, when the Geneva offense rallied for the tying run.  West drove in Johnson with a two-out single to pull the Golden Tornadoes even, 4-4.  However, a Geneva error to lead off the bottom of the seventh allowed a President to get to second base with no outs, and then a wild pitch moved her to third where W&J drove her home for the winning run.

Johnson led the offense with three hits and two runs.  Hart went 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs, while freshman Megan Gray (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) also added two hits.

That result of game one meant game two essentially became a playoff game between the two schools, with the winner getting the final PAC playoff spot and the loser seeing its season come to an end.

Smith got the start in the circle in game two, and Geneva gave her an early lead when Johnson led off with a single, stole second and then came around to score on a single from Hart.  W&J had a great chance in the bottom of the second to get on the board when the Presidents loaded the bases with just one out against Smith, but a force out and a fly out kept W&J off the board.

Johnson and Forsythe got the offense going in again in the top of the third with back-to-back one-out singles.  Johnson scored on a sacrifice fly from Hart, and then Forsythe came home on a single by West.

Smith again worked herself out of the trouble in the fourth after W&J put runners on second and third with just one out, but Smith managed to keep the Presidents from scoring.

Geneva added to its lead in the sixth when Johnson drove home a run with a double and then came around to score later in the inning on a W&J error, extending the Golden Tornado lead to 5-0.

Smith took it from there, finishing off the complete game-shutout without too much more trouble.  She pitched all seven innings while giving up just six hits, earning her 10th win of the season.

Johnson was again the catalyst for the offense, going 3-for-4 with a double, three runs scored and a stolen base.  West added two hits, while Hart drove in two runners.

The win clinches the sixth seed in the PAC playoffs for the Golden Tornadoes.  The top three seeds in the PAC get a bye into the PAC Tournament, while the fourth, fifth and sixth place teams play a play-in tournament on Tuesday to determine the fourth and final team of the tournament.  Saint Vincent is the fourth seed and will host the play-in games.  Geneva will take on fifth-seed Grove City in the first game scheduled to start at 3:00 p.m.  The winner of that game will play Saint Vincent right after the first game, with the winner of the second game earning the PAC's final spot in the championship tournament.  Westminster is the top seed and will 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).