BETHANY, W.Va. – The Geneva College softball team continued its recent impressive play on Saturday, sweeping a road doubleheader at Bethany by scores of 6-3 and 3-2 to extend its winning streak to seven games. The victories improve Geneva's record to 19-13 overall, 11-5 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC).
Freshman Molly Shelley started off game one with a double. She stole third and came home on a sacrifice fly from sophomore Lexi Zanic. Senior Julia Hart followed with a single, and two batters later senior Elishea Reed brought her home with an RBI-single. That gave sophomore Sophia Tvaroch, who got the start in the cirlce, some early run support.
Geneva added to its lead in the top of the fourth with two more runs. Zanic led off with a single, and she went to third on a double from Hart. Zanic scored on a sacrifice fly from junior Megan Gray, and Reed drove in Hart with an RBI-grounout.
Bethany got on the board with a run on a couple two-out hits in the bottom of the third.
The teams each scored single runs in the fifth and sixth innings to wrap up the scoring. Zanic scored on a throwing error in the fifth, and sophomore Madison Rapp scored on a throwing error in the sixth.
Sophomore McKenzie Rapp relieved Tvaroch after the fifth inning and pitched the final two innings to earn the save. Tvaroch got the win with five innings of work, giving up five hits and one earned run, while striking out three.
Shelley and Hart led the offense with two hits and two runs scored each. Reed drove in two runs.
Graduate student Haley Smith, who got the start in game two, was also the beneficiary of some early run support by the Geneva offense in the second game of the day. Shelley reached on an error to lead the game off, and she stole second, tying the school record with her 36th steal of the season. Zanic followed with a walk. Shelley scored on an error off the bat of Hart, and then sophomore Justine Robbins singled home Zanic for a second run.
The Bison got a run back in the bottom of the first inning, but Smith managed to get out of a jam without further damage.
Both starting pitchers settled down after the first inning. Geneva got back on the board in the top of the fourth on a two-out RBI-double from Madison Rapp, which brought home Robbins.
Bethany got that run back in the bottom of the fifth, and the Bison threatened for more in the bottom of sixth when they put two runners on with one out. McKenzie Rapp came in to relieve Smith at that point, and she got out of the jam by retiring the next two batters. Rapp then retired the Bison in order in the bottom of the seventh to earn her second save of the day and seal the 3-2 win.
Smith earned her third straight victory with 5.1 innings of work, giving up seven hits and two runs, while striking out two.
Geneva managed just five hits in the second game, with Robbins supplying two of them, but it was enough offense to deliver the win.
The Golden Tornadoes finish out the regular season with four home doubleheaders over the next ten days, beginning with two games against Saint Vincent on Tuesday starting at 3:30 p.m.
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).
