MEADVILLE, Pa. – The Geneva College softball team finally got back on the diamond on Tuesday after ten days off due to recent unplayable weather, with the Golden Tornadoes heading to Allegheny for a doubleheader against the Gators, who will be joining the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) next season. Geneva received a big performance in the circle and at the plate from senior Nicole West (Glenwood, Md./McDonogh), enabling the Golden Tornadoes to sweep Allegheny by scores 1-0 and 11-9, with game two going nine innings. Geneva improved its record to 10-6 overall.
West got the ball in the circle in game one, and she was strong throughout, which the Golden Tornadoes needed.
The only run of the game came in the third inning when junior Madison Forsythe (Trafford, Pa./Penn-Trafford) drove home a runner with a single. The Golden Tornadoes struggled to get anything else going offensively, though, so they relied on West to keep the Gators off the board.
Allegheny looked to have a great opportunity to tie the score in the bottom of seventh, when with one out the Gators walked and doubled to put runners on second and third. However, West got out of the jam with two shallow fly outs to close out the victory.
West earned her fifth victory of the season with the complete-game shutout, pitching all seven innings while giving up just five hits and two walks, while striking out two.
The Geneva offense managed just five hits, with Forsythe finishing 2-for-3 with the RBI.
Junior Haley Smith (Joshua Tree, Calif./Yucca Valley) got the start in game two, and Allegheny scored three times in the bottom of the first with two outs, helped greatly by a walk, a hit batter and an error.
Geneva pulled even in the third when West sent a two-out drive over the left-field fence for a three-run home run. Allegheny pushed across another unearned run in the bottom of the inning to regain the lead.
The Golden Tornadoes immediately responded with three more runs in the top of the fourth, with senior Sarah Johnson (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) providing the big hit, an RBI-triple, giving Geneva its first lead of the game, 6-4.
Allegheny pushed across a run in the fifth, but another RBI-triple by Johnson in the top of the sixth gave the Golden Tornadoes a 7-5 lead.
However, the Gators kept coming, aided by Geneva miscues. Allegheny scored another unearned run in the bottom of the sixth, and then the Gators pulled even with a run in the bottom of the seventh, sending the game to extra innings.
Each team started with a runner on second base, and Geneva pushed across its runner in the eighth on a sacrifice fly from junior Peri Ceasri (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Vista Del Lago). The Golden Tornadoes appeared to have the game won in the bottom of the inning, but a dropped pop fly with two outs allowed Allegheny to tie the score and send the game to the ninth.
Geneva busted the game open in the top of the ninth. Forsythe had an RBI-single, followed by an RBI-single from West, which proved to be the game-winner. Sophomore Elishea Reed (Lanse, Pa./West Branch) finished off the inning with another RBI-single to give the Golden Tornadoes an 11-8 lead. Allegheny managed to drive home its runner from second, but that was it as Geneva held on for the 11-9 victory.
After collecting just five hits in game one, the Geneva offense broke out for 17 hits in the second game. Johnson led the team with four hits, along with two runs and two RBIs. West finished 3-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs. Forsythe also collected three hits, scored three runs, drove in two and stole two bases. Reed, senior Madison Smith (Joshua Tree, Calif./Yucca Valley) and freshman Megan Gray (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) each added two hits.
Haley Smith earned her fifth win on the season, pitching all nine innings while giving up 12 hits, nine runs (four earned) and two walks, while striking out nine batters.
Geneva finally gets a chance to open PAC play on Thursday when the Golden Tornadoes host Westminster for a doubleheader beginning at 3:30 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).
