FULTON, Mo. — The Goshen College softball team claimed its first two wins of the season Sunday, setting a school record in the process of playing three games at William Woods University in Missouri.

The Maple Leafs topped Briar Cliff University in a pair of one-run games to open the day before losing to WWU in the nightcap; the tripleheader followed a rainout of Saturday's half of the planned double-round-robin event.

Senior Brooke Maes worked her 51st and 52nd career walks over the course of the day, setting a new Maple Leaf career record previously held by 2017 graduate Krista Sutliff. Maes also went 3-for-9 on the day, driving in three runs and adding a homer while pitching five innings of two-hit softball.

See below for summaries of all three games; click the bold links to see each game's final stats.

GAME 1: Goshen 7, Briar Cliff 6 (box score)

The Maple Leafs scored the final six runs of the opener to get their first win of 2018 after Briar Cliff led 6-1 after three innings. Despite that early setback, it was Goshen that scored first on a bases-loaded single from Maes in the top of the opening inning.

The Chargers put up a pair of 3-spots in the second and third innings, recording three straight extra-base hits in the former before inflicting more damage with a one-out double after two leadoff walks in the latter.

After starting the game in left field, Maes headed for the circle in the third inning. Two batters into the fourth, she helped her own cause at the plate, poking her 15th career homer to left field to score Katherine Boyer and cut the hole to 5-3. The GC defense posted the first of two straight hitless frames in the bottom of that inning.

If the fourth inning used the heavy equipment, the fifth was death by paper cuts: the Maple Leafs' first five batters reached base without the ball leaving the infield. A walk, a fielder's choice with no out, an infield single and two errors did the damage to score Sandra Rodriguez and Brianna Sherman, bringing GC within 6-5 with the bases loaded and no outs.

While the Chargers got out of that inning, they weren't so lucky in the sixth. Candace Sutter started the inning with a walk, coming in on a Sherman two-bagger to tie the score. After a flyout for the second out, Boyer and Maes each walked to load the bases before Rianna Koteles drew the bases-loaded free pass that proved to be the game-winning RBI.

Briar Cliff got the tying run to third base in the seventh, when a leadoff single from Brooke French was followed by two sacrifice bunts to move her within 60 feet of leveling the score. A fly ball to shallow left-center ended the threat, though, giving GC its first half of the doubleheader sweep.

Maes earned the win in relief after allowing two hits in four innings while going 2 for 3 at the plate and driving in three. Sherman also added two hits, including the double, while Sherman and Sutter scored twice each. The Chargers outhit Goshen 10-9, getting three singles from Rachele Heaton and two doubles from Codie Fineran, who also drove in three runs.

GAME 2: Goshen 3, Briar Cliff 2 (box score)

If you tuned in late, you missed most of the scoring in the second game, which saw three of the five runs come in the first inning. The Chargers (1-7) got the first run on a two-out, bases-loaded single by Summer Williams before Katherine Boyer put Goshen (2-6) out in front with a two-run single to the left-field wall in the bottom of the inning.

The teams combined for three hits in the next three frames, with Goshen loading the bases in the fourth in search of an insurance run but leaving two runners on.

Williams drove in the tying run in the top of the fifth with a one-out single following Nicole Romero's leadoff double. After both sides went down without a hit, GC got a leadoff single from Maes and a Boyer double to put two runs in scoring position in the sixth. The next two batters struck out before a passed ball advanced both runners 60 feet for a 3-2 lead.

After the tying run reached on an error in the seventh, Maes was called upon to shut the door. A pair of sacrifice bunts moved the runner to third base but also removed BCU's margin for error with two outs: a ground ball back to Maes ended the game as all three outs went 1-4 in the scorebook.

Boyer and Briar Cliff's Madison Dean each finished 2 for 3 at the plate. Leah Herrman got the win in the pitching circle, going six innings and giving up six hits on 81 pitches.

GAME 3: William Woods 3, Goshen 0 (box score)

The host Owls built a picket fence through the first half of the linescore, scoring once in each of the first three innings and holding on for the shutout win to finish the sweep of their two weekend games.

Leadoff hitter Emma Walker started the bottom of the first with a double, coming in to score three batters later. Walker also drove in William Woods' second run in the second inning, although her apparent bases-loaded single to center turned into a fielder's choice when Sutter threw out the runner advancing to second.

WWU got an insurance run in the third, stringing together three singles and a sacrifice bunt to make the score 3-0.

At the time, it didn't appear that the insurance was required as the first nine Maple Leafs had gone down in order. Goshen quickly changed that perception in the fourth, putting each of its next five batters on base; unfortunately, the final three all came at the expense of existing runners as the Owls got three fielder's choices to end the inning.

GC loaded the bases again in the fifth despite starting with two groundouts and a strikeout: the latter came on a pitch that eluded the catcher, letting Koteles reach base on a wild pitch. Sutter would single and Sandra Rodriguez would walk to pack the sacks before Madison Ausfahl recorded a more conventional punchout to close the inning.

The Maple Leafs got the tying run to the plate for the third time in four innings in the seventh, using a leadoff single from Koteles and a two-out Boyer walk to bring Maes to the plate. While the Goshen native now boasted a program-best walk total after drawing the record-setting free pass an inning earlier, her bid to level the score ended with a flyout to center field.

Sutter was the lone Maple Leaf with multiple hits, recording a pair of singles while Koteles reached by single and by strikeout. Walker, Emily RObinett and Devin Burton each reached safely twice for WWU.

Goshen's Alexis Carpenter went the distance in the circle, striking out seven; while Ausfahl didn't finish with the complete game, she twirled three-hit ball for five innings before Allison Waskow got the save.

Up Next: Goshen will play five times this weekend at the Copper State Collegiate Classic hosted by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Prescott campus in Prescott, Arizona. The Maple Leafs kick off the event at noon (EST) on Saturday by facing Arizona Christian before taking on Ottawa University Arizona at 2:15 and again at 6:45; the Sunday slate includes Benedictine and Antelope Valley.