BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College softball team finished off its suspended game against Grove City from last week on Tuesday afternoon at home, completing a 7-3 victory that was suspended after four innings in the second game from last's week's doubleheader at Grove City. The victory is the women's ninth straight and 17th in 18 games and improves Geneva's overall record to an impressive 28-6 overall, 15-3 in conference play.
The original doubleheader started last week in Grove City, with Geneva winning the first game 7-2. The second game got underway and went into the fifth inning with the Golden Tornadoes leading 5-2 when the game was suspended due to lightning. By conference rule, the visiting team gets to host the remainder of the suspended game, so the Wolverines traveled to Beaver Falls to play the final three innings.
During the first four innings of last week's start, Geneva jumped ahead in the first inning on a two-run single by junior Faith Bonar, scoring junior Kyra Wilcox and senior Lexi Zanic.
Senior McKenzie Rapp was the starter, and she cruised through the first two innings, and the Golden Tornadoes added two more runs in the top of the third when sophomore Isabela Skrlac brought junior Aliya Ottaviani and senior Madison Rapp home with a single.
The Wolverines responded in the bottom of the inning with two runs off Rapp, but Geneva added a fifth run in the top of the fourth when senior Justine Robbins stole home on a double steal with senior Payton James.
When the game was restarted on Tuesday, Geneva inserted senior Sophia Tvaroch into the circle in relief, and Grove City scored a run in the bottom of the fifth on a solo home run, the first home run Tvaroch has given up all season.
Geneva answered in the top of the sixth, though, scoring twice more. Zanic drove home Wilcox, who had doubled to open the inning, with a double of her own. Zanic eventually came home on a sacrifice fly by Ottaviani.
That was plenty of support for Tvaroch, who retired six of the final seven hitters she faced over the last two innings to pick up her second save of the season. Rapp picked up her tenth win of the year, pitching 4.0 innings while giving up six hits and two runs.
Wilcox and Zanic led the charge offensively, each contributing three hits while scoring twice. Bonar and Ottaviani each chipped in with two hits apiece. Bonar and Skrlac each drove in two runs, while Ottaviani scored a run and drove in another.
Geneva plays its final regular season road games of the year tomorrow at Bethany. If the Golden Tornadoes can manage just a split in the doubleheader, they put themselves in great position to secure one of the two byes for the conference playoffs next weekend. The first game at Bethany starts 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).
