Beaver Falls, PA – Geneva (13-11, 2-4 PAC) swept Washington & Jefferson (1-16, 0-8 PAC) in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) doubleheader on Monday, April 10. The long 7-6 (nine-inning) game one final captured Geneva’s first conference victory. The 7-1 game two decision gave the Golden Tornadoes their second win for a conference record to 2-4.

“Softball is a very simple formula,” commented head coach Van Zanic. “You hit the ball, you catch the ball, and you throw it. When do all three of those things in one day you are going to get good results.

Sometimes, hitting is contagious, and we had a really productive day up and down our lineup, which was really good to see.”

Casey Farkasovsky drove in lead-off batter sophomore Haley Sainato and moved senior Clara Sevy to third base early in the first inning of game one for the 1-0 score. Senior Lucia Fee drove in Sevy for the 2-0 lead before Farkasovsky was able to steal home for the 3-0 advantage before the end of the inning.

The Presidents chipped away at Geneva’s lead and took it over at 4-3 in the top of the fifth inning after a two-run double into center field.

The Golden Tornadoes responded to W&J's three-run rally with their own three-run performance in the bottom of the fifth. Fee hit a long left field double to move Farkasovsky to third to set up the rally. Sophomore Ashely Grow hit a two-run single which brought home the freshman and senior to force the lead change (5-4). Freshman shortstop April Lude hit an easy double to the center field fence to occupy second base. Junior second baseman Laura Innocenzi supplied the RBI single to bring Lude home the 6-4 edge over W&J.

President Rachel Marx’s two-run homer tied the game at 6-6 forcing the teams into extra innings.

In the top of the eighth, center fielder Sainato ended the top of the eighth when she ran down a short pop-up and threw down the runner attempting to advance to home.

The game ended in Geneva’s favor at 7-6 after Sevy’s pitch runner Jennifer Rodgers advanced to third setting up Farkasovsky for the walk-off RBI drive.

In game two, Geneva capitalized early in the first inning. April Lude stepped up to bat with two outs. Lude punched a single that brought home Farkasovsky and Fee for a 2-0 lead.

The Presidents were able to jump on the scoreboard in the top of the third to close the gap to 2-1.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Golden Tornadoes went on a four-run rally as history seemed to repeat itself. This time it was Grow to connect on a double to bring home the two runs. Lude was able to drive home her third RBI of the game before freshman pitcher Bobbie Ann Theiss was able to come home on a wild pitch for the 7-1 final score.

Theiss captured the two wins in the circle for the Golden Tornadoes. In the second game, she was especially efficient allowing only four hits, two strikeouts, and one walk.

“Defensively, we were pretty solid,” continued Zanic. “Bobbie Anne pitched a great second game and on top of that, she got a couple doubles offensively.

“It was nice to see offensive production from everyone today. It was nice to win our first two conference games of the year. So hopefully this will help snowball things the rest of the way.”

The Golden Tornadoes will continue their work on the road tomorrow (Tuesday, April 11) as they travel to conference foe Waynesburg University for a doubleheader starting at 3:30 p.m.

Geneva College is a Christ-centered academic community that provides a comprehensive education to equip students for faithful and fruitful service to God and neighbor. Offering over 40 traditional undergraduate majors and programs, Adult Degree Programs with fully online and classroom options, and high-demand graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality. U.S. News & World Report ranks Geneva as a Top Three Best Value Regional University with one of the Top 100 engineering programs in the nation. Adhering to the truth of Scripture, a Geneva education is grounded in God’s Word as well as in a core curriculum designed to prepare students vocationally to think, write and communicate well in today’s world.