FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Geneva College softball team continued its hot start to the season, the best in program history, with two more big wins on Saturday down in Florida.  The women opened the day with an 11-0 shutout of Alverno, and the Golden Tornadoes followed that up with a 15-5 victory over Crown.  The wins moved Geneva's record to 9-1 on the season.

Junior Sophia Tvaroch got the start in the circle for Geneva in game one against Alverno, and she quickly retired the side in order in the top of the first inning, including two strikeouts.  The Golden Tornadoes offense then exploded in the bottom of the frame.

The first nine batters reached base for Geneva on seven hits and two hit batters, with the Golden Tornadoes eventually scoring seven times.  Sophomores Molly Shelley and Kyra Wilcox opened the game with singles, and junior Lexi Zanic was hit by a pitch to load the bases.  Graduate student Julia Hart then sent a drive over the center field wall for a grand slam.

Junior Justine Robbins followed with a double, junior Madison Rapp was hit by a pitch, and sophomore Callie Mangan followed with a single to load the bases once again.  Sophomore Aliya Ottaviani singled home two runners, and two batters later, Shelley drove in the final run with a sacrifice fly, the first out of the inning for the Golden Tornadoes.

Tvaroch breezed through the next two innings, and Geneva added four more runs in the bottom of the third.  Freshmen Micaiah Armstrong, Grace Goodman and Katelynn Knepper all delivered RBI-singles, and junior Adrianna Campbell brought home the final run with a fielder's choice.

The big lead allowed Geneva to play a number of reserves in the game, with the game being called after five innings due to the mercy rule, 11-0.

Tvaroch earned the win, pitching 3.0 innings while giving up just two hits, striking out four.

Offensively, Geneva finished with 13 hits, all by different hitters.  Hart had the big blow, the grand slam, while Ottaviani drove in two runs.

The Geneva offense kept producing in the second game of the day against Crown.  Robbins drove home two in the top of the first inning with a double to get the Golden Tornadoes quickly on the board.

Junior McKenzie Rapp got the start in the circle, and she was equally as effective as Tvaroch in game one.  Geneva added two more runs of support in the top of the second on a single from Shelley.

The Golden Tornadoes then broke the game open with seven runs in the third, with all seven runs scoring after the first two batters were retired.

Senior Megan Gray got the two-out rally started with a double, and she scored on a double from freshman Malerie Branson.  Later in the inning, Shelley drove in two with a single, while Wilcox, Hart and Robbins all followed with RBI-singles.

The big lead once again allowed Head Coach Van Zanic to play a number of reserves, and Crown rallied in the bottom the fifth.  With Geneva needing just one more out to invoke the mercy rule again, the Polars scored four runs to close within 11-5, sending the game to the sixth.

Geneva re-entered a number of starters at that point, including Rapp back into the circle, and the Golden Tornadoes put the game away with four runs in the top of the seventh.  Sophomore Payton James, Wilcox and Zanic supplied the RBIs for the women, with a fourth scoring on an error. 

Rapp earned her fifth win of the season, pitching 4.0 scoreless innings, giving up just three hits while striking out five.

Shelley, Wilcox, Hart, Robbins, Branson and James each had two of Geneva's 17 hits.  Shelley and Robbins each drove in three runs, with Wilcox adding two RBIs.  Branson scored three times, while Shelley, Zanic, James and freshman Isabela Skrlac each scored twice.

Geneva will wrap up its play in Florida on Monday with two final games against St. Joseph Brooklyn and Crown, beginning at 9:00 a.m.