WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – Geneva could not keep up with the hot bats they faced on Saturday, falling in both of their games down in Florida. In Game One, the women lost 10-4 to the #7-ranked Rowan Profs, and they fell 9-1 to Swarthmore in their second game of the day. Geneva's record slips to 5-5 with one day of play remaining down south.
The first game of the day did not begin well for the Golden Tornadoes. After neither team put a runner on base in the first inning, Rowan was able to send 4 players across home plate in the second. Two frames later, a 4-hit second inning produced three more runs for the Profs to put them in front 7-0. They were able to tack on two more in the next inning to go into the fifth-inning break up 9-0.
Geneva was finally able to produce some hitting in the bottom of the fifth inning. Freshman Malerie Branson blooped a single into the outfield to start things off, and she was then pushed to third base on a big double from sophomore Justine Robbins. A walk loaded up the bases, but a forceout at home and an infield fly resulted in two quick outs, and it appeared Geneva might not score in the inning after all. Then followed RBI singles from sophomore Lexi Zanic, senior Julia Hart, and a 2-RBI hit from freshman Aliya Ottaviani to pull the GTs within five runs, 9-4.
Unfortunately, that was as close as the women would get in Game One, as the Profs managed to add another run in the seventh inning to take the game 10-4.
Graduate student Haley Smith took the loss for the Golden Tornadoes, pitching 4.0 innings and allowing seven runs, five earned, on nine hits. She was replaced in the fifth inning by sophomore Jorja Koerner, but by then it was too late. Koerner allowed three earned runs on five hits in 3.0 innings pitched.
Ottaviani went 1-2 at the plate against Rowan, knocking in two RBIs. Hart and Zanic also contributed RBIs to round out Geneva's scoring, with Zanic scoring a run as well.
Game Two also ended up going poorly for the Golden Tornadoes, with an RBI base hit from Hart in the first inning proving to be the only offense Geneva could produce from the plate all evening. Swarthmore dominated from then onward, eventually winning the game by mercy rule after taking an eight-run lead in the fifth inning.
(As of the publication of this story, stats were not available for Game Two)
The women close out their time in Florida on Monday, with games against Arcadia and St. Scholastica.
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).
