LATROBE, Pa. – The Geneva College softball team picked up a huge doubleheader sweep at Saint Vincent on Tuesday afternoon, and in the process Head Coach Van Zanic secured his 500th career victory, the most of any coach in program history. The Golden Tornadoes won the two games by scores of 5-3 and 6-5. The victories improve Geneva's record to 19-15 overall, 12-6 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while pulling the Golden Tornadoes even with Saint Vincent in standings.
Senior Haley Smith got the start in the circle in game one, and the Bearcats pushed across a two-out run in the bottom of the first to get on the board.
Geneva answered immediately in the top of the second when junior Elishea Reed and freshman Jorja Koerner hit back-to-back doubles with one out. The Golden Tornadoes then took the lead in the top of the third when senior Sarah Johnson singled, stole second, went to third on a single from freshman Payton James and then scored on a sacrifice fly by junior Julia Hart.
Smith shut down the Bearcats offense for five innings after the first, and the Golden Tornadoes came up with a big inning in the fifth. Senior Peri Ceasri singled home two runs, and Reed added a third run with a sacrifice fly, extending the Geneva edge to 5-1.
The Bearcats tried to rally in the bottom of the seventh, plating two runners with a two-out double, but Smith retired the final batter to secure the 5-3 victory.
Smith earned her 11th win of the season, pitching all seven innings while giving up ten hits and three runs, striking out five.
Hart collected two of the seven Geneva hits, while Johnson walked twice, stole two bases and scored a run.
Freshman Sophia Tvaroch got the start in the circle in game two, and the Bearcats jumped on her for two runs in the bottom of the first.
Geneva rallied in the next two innings. Senior Danielle Goodman drove home a run in the second inning with a fielder's choice groundball, while the Golden Tornadoes took their first lead of the game with two runs in the third. Hart and Reed each supplied RBI-doubles in the inning.
Saint Vincent responded in the bottom of the third, though, scoring twice to retake the lead while knocking Tvaroch out of the game in the process.
Geneva got great relief pitching from Koerner, though, who held the Bearcat offense in check over the next three innings, allowing the Golden Tornadoes to rally with a big inning in the top of the seventh.
Johnson led off and stole second base, and one out later senior Madison Forsythe was hit by a pitch to put two runners on base. Both Johnson and Forsythe then came around to score on another double from Hart, giving the Golden Tornadoes the lead back. Reed then delivered a key RBI-single with two outs, giving Geneva an insurance run that would prove essential.
Smith relieved Koerner and got two outs before the Bearcats pushed across a run. But she closed out the victory and secured the sweep, 6-5.
Koerner earned her third win of the season, delivering 3.1 scoreless innings of relief, while Smith picked up her second save of the season.
Johnson, Forsythe, Hart, Reed and Koerner all contributed two hits in the attack. Hart led the offense with three RBIs, Reed drove home two, while Forsythe scored twice.
Geneva wraps up the regular season with a doubleheader at Franciscan on Saturday. The Golden Tornadoes are hoping to secure a top three seed for the upcoming PAC Tournament, which would enable the team to avoid the play-in tournament early next week.
Through purposeful learning in a community reflecting the full spectrum of God's kingdom, a Geneva College experience inspires students to discover a faith-life calling in service to God and neighbor. Offering 195+ traditional undergraduate majors and programs, fully online Adult Degree Programs and high-demand graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality and affordability. 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 the International Association for Christian Education (IACE).
