NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – After opening the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Tournament with a victory, the Geneva College softball team suffered its first setback of the double-elimination format on a cold and damp Saturday afternoon, falling to the top seed and hosts, Westminster, 6-3. The Golden Tornadoes will need to win out the rest of the tournament in order to capture its third PAC Championship in program history.
The game got off to a tough start when Westminster opened the game with a walk and a double off Geneva senior ace Sophia Tvaroch, and both runners scored on a sacrifice fly and a throwing error to put the Golden Tornadoes in an immediate hole against Titans' ace Cheyenne Piper.
Tvaroch settled down after the early trouble, and the Geneva got one of the those runs back in the top of the third when junior Molly Shelley drove in senior Payton James with a single.
The Titans responded in the fifth with a big inning, though, scoring three times while knocking Tvaroch out of the game, extending their lead to 5-1. Westminster added a run in the sixth to make it 6-1.
Geneva's offense stirred to life in the top of the seventh. Junior Aliya Ottaviani, senior Madison Rapp and James all singled with one out to load the bases. After a strikeout, Shelley came through again with a double down the left field line to drive in two runners. That brought junior Kyra Wilcox to the plate representing the tying run, and she made good contact on her drive into the left-centerfield gap, but Westminster's centerfielder made a nice running catch to record the final out.
Shelley led the offense, going 2-for-4 with a double, three RBIs and two stolen bases. Rapp and James hit well too, each going 2-for-3 with a run scored, with James adding a stolen base.
The Golden Tornadoes will now be required to win three times on Monday to win the championship. Geneva, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, will open with a game against No. 3 Bethany at 11:00 a.m., and if the Golden Tornadoes win that contest, the women will need to beat Westminster twice to win the title. A loss in any of those three games would bring an end to the season for the softball team.
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).
