BEAVER FALLS — As a sophomore last spring, Julia Hart batted .326 and drove in 22 runs for the Geneva College softball team, but the opportunity to build on that promising effort was in jeopardy.

Hart, a 2020 graduate of Slippery Rock High School and first baseman for the Golden Tornadoes, was dealing with a nagging stress fracture in her right foot last summer.

"I was wearing a boot and on crutches, missed a lot of the offseason workouts," she said. "I ended up having a procedure done where they injected some of my own plasma into my foot to help it heal faster. I was finally cleared to get back to softball in late November and knew I had to get into the batting cage."

It took Hart a while to get her rhythm and confidence back at the plate.

During Geneva's trip to Florida to open this season, Hart batted .156 (5 of 32) in 11 games.

"She was sidelined for much of the fall, was kind of behind the 8-ball at the start of things," said Geneva coach Van Zanic. "One day, after we came back up north, I put a freshman in at first base during practice and I think that caught Julia's attention.

"I have all the confidence in the world in her ability and she knows that. Things flipped for her pretty quickly after that."

In Geneva's very next game, against Penn State Behrend March 21, Hart began a hit streak that stands at 16 games entering this week’s play. In that span, she is batting .461 (24 of 52), pushing her average to .345.

"I knew I had the ability," said Hart, a Sports Management major. "(The slump) was more of a mental thing than anything else and I definitely knew I could turn it around."

Batting third or fourth in the lineup, Hart has not simply returned to form for the Tornadoes, her statistics say she has improved since last year.

In 2022, she hit eight doubles all season and struck out once every six at-bats. She's leading the team this season with 12 doubles and has been the victim of a strikeout just once every 10.5 at-bats. She paces Geneva with 28 RBI; no other player on the team has more than 17.

"I think I'm more disciplined at the plate this year. I'm not up there just swinging at the first pitch," said Hart.

"For us to be successful, Julia has to produce," said Zanic.

While Hart played a bit of first base in high school, the position was largely an unknown to her before starting there as a sophomore. She has a .983 fielding percentage this season.

"There are times when you can tell she's not exactly sure of herself, but first base was completely new to her and she's still learning," said Zanic. "There are other times when she makes a very athletic play."

The Golden Tornadoes are 15-13 overall and 8-4 in Presidents' Athletic Conference play. They completed a doubleheader sweep of conference leader Waynesburg last weekend. The Yellow Jackets had won 15 consecutive games.

"We're excited about the rest of the season," Zanic said. "We've put ourselves in position to make the playoffs and if you get there, anything can happen."