By Seth Wesman
Sports Information Intern

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — The Goshen College baseball team fought to within a run of the hosting Mastodons of Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne on Tuesday, but ultimately fell 6-4 in a nine-inning affair.

Goshen (14-13-1, 4-4 Crossroads League) got the afternoon started with a run when Spenser Triplett brought home Ryan Hartig in the first inning for a 1-0 lead.

After IPFW (4-18) took the lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first, the Leafs evened the contest when Clinton Stroble II doubled home Vincent Caschera in the third.

The Mastodons, who play in the Summit League in NCAA Division I, went ahead for good with a run in the fourth, before extending the lead with a pair of runs in the fifth inning. The Leafs responded with two runs of their own in the sixth when Triplett scored Ben Longacre and Anthony Todaro brought home Triplett to cut the deficit to 5-4.

IPFW put the game away with an insurance run in the bottom of the inning.

Brad Lantz got the start for Goshen and went 2 innings before 6 different Leafs pitching in relief.  Seth Lapp, Kyle Kotecki, Colton Daniel, Brandon Vires, James Stricker and Chandler Ingle all threw an inning out of the bullpen in the loss.

Triplett led the offense with a pair of RBIs as Stroble and Todaro each driving in 1 of Goshen's other 2 runs. Triplett, Caschera, Hartig and Longacre all scored a run for the Leafs with Caschera, Stroble and Triplett each collecting a team-high 2 hits apiece.

IPFW's Duane Miller earned the win for the Mastodons as Brandon Phelps recorded the save. Jackson Boyce drove in a game-high 3 runs as Travis Upp, Alec Reuille and Zak Kellogg all drove in a run each.

The Leafs will be back in action on Wednesday afternoon when they travel to Spring Arbor, Michigan to take on conference opponent Spring Arbor University. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.