ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The Geneva College softball team, after making quick work of Grace Christian on Wednesday morning, 11-2, in the first game of the day at the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Midwest Region, couldn't hold onto a late lead in game two and fell to #1 Concordia, 4-3, in the championship game of the region.  The Golden Tornadoes are awaiting a possible at-large bid to the NCCAA National Tournament next week to see if their season will continue.

Geneva opened the day with an elimination game against Grace Christian, and the Golden Tornadoes put the game away early.  Geneva scored ten times in the first inning, capped off by a grand slam from senior Julia Hart. 

That was more than enough offense for sophomore McKenzie Rapp, who gave up just one unearned run in three innings to earn the win the five-inning affair.  Sophomore Alex Guzman and freshman Molly Shelley each contributed two hits as the Golden Tornadoes again got the chance to play several reserves later in the game.

The win put Geneva into the regional championship against the top ranked team in the NCCAA, Concordia.  The Cardinals had defeated Geneva 8-0 yesterday, meaning the Golden Tornadoes would need to defeat Concordia twice to win the region.

Sophomore Sophia Tvaroch got the start in the circle, and she was good early.  Other than a mistake in the second to Concordia's Faith Cramton, who homered for the first run of the game, Tvaroch kept the Cardinals off balance.

Geneva pulled even in the top of the third when junior Megan Gray scored on a Concordia error.  The Golden Tornadoes then took the lead in the fourth when Gray's ground ball brought home freshman Malerie Branson. 

Geneva added to its lead with a run in the fifth on an RBI-single from sophomore Justine Robbins, which scored Shelley.

However, Concordia got its offense going in the bottom of the sixth.  The Cardinals scored three times to retake the lead, and Geneva couldn't answer in the top of the seventh in falling, 4-3.

Shelley led the offense with three hits and a run, while sophomore Lexi Zanic added two hits in the attack.

Geneva will now await a possible at-large bid to the NCCAA National Tournament, which will be held next week in Kansas City, Missouri.  The team hopes to hear something by the end of the day today, once the other regions complete their championship games.