PHOENIX — Courtney Crapser's first career home run sparked an eight-run sixth-inning rally as the Goshen College softball team came back to earn a doubleheader split with a 12-6 win over Arizona Christian University on Wednesday.

The junior's one-out blast of a 1-1 pitch over the left-field wall for a grand slam turned a 5-4 deficit into an 8-5 lead and gave the Maple Leafs (7-10) a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Brooke Maes followed with her 16th career home run later in the inning to finish the Goshen scoring.

When all was said and done, Goshen had posted 17 hits, its most in a regulation seven-inning game since 2012.

The Maple Leafs had gotten on the board first in the nightcap after Candace Sutter poked the first pitch of the game down the left-field line. The leadoff batter worked her way around the bases 60 feet at a time, stealing second and advancing on bunts from Maes and Katherine Boyer for a 1-0 lead.

Arizona Christian (6-7) responded with the next four runs, tying the game in the bottom of the inning on a hit batter, a sacrifice bunt and two stolen bases. The Firestorm added three more runs on one hit in the fourth, taking advantage of a series of fielder's choices to move runners along after a leadoff walk.

Meanwhile, hits weren't hard for the Maple Leafs to come by after one more in the second and two in the third. GC got one run of its deficit back in the fourth frame on another Sutter single, although the team did join the parade of runs without hits when Rianna Koteles took a hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded.

Goshen tied the score in the fifth when Crapser hit a leadoff single before moving around on a steal, a sacrifice bunt and another hit, this one from left fielder Taylor Sutliff. Even so, when ACU cleanup hitter Paige Church doubled in a run in the bottom of the inning, the Firestorm led 5-4 despite Goshen sporting a 9-2 hit advantage.

That edge reached 12-2 in the top of the sixth with ACU still in front: Boyer, Koteles and Leah Herrman all singled to load the bases before Crapser unloaded them and shoved the momentum solidly into the visitors' corner.

The sixth inning also proved significant in a pair of year-over-year comparisons: the first run to score on Crapser's grand slam matched the 2017 team's run total, while Maes' three-run blast gave the 2018 team as many home runs and RBIas its counterpart last spring. Perhaps fittingly, the 2017 totals were matched in GC's 17th game of the year.

Goshen finished with an 18-10 edge in hits for the twinbill, but in a sense the team was due: Arizona Christian claimed the first game 8-0 in five innings after homering twice in the first inning and a third. Church recorded a double, a four-bagger and a walk in three times up while Ashlynn Preciado faced 18 batters in a complete-game win.

"We came out flat in game one and the defense was struggling," said Goshen head coach Kristen Kolter. "But the team came into game two hungry and refused to lose. That type of fire and determination is extremely exciting to see. I'm so proud of these young ladies."

Alexis Carpenter went the distance for the win in game two, scattering four hits over seven innings and striking out three. Six of Goshen's nine batters had multiple hits with all nine scoring runs: the bottom two spots in the order, Cassandra Espinoza and Sutliff, combined to go 6-for-8 with three runs scored. Koteles also finished with three hits, including a double.

Maes, Sutter and Crapser each finished with two hits each, while Herrman went 1-for-3 with two walks. Maes, Boyer, Crapser and Espinoza all added sacrifices.

Goshen's sixth win of its spring-break trip ties a school record for most wins during the midterm recess, matching the 2012 squad that went 6-4. The 1999, 2002 and 2010 sides each won five games over break. (The 2002 team won 10 total games on its voyage, but half of that figure came against foreign teams and junior colleges, which are not recognized by the NAIA.)

The Maple Leafs conclude their Arizona trip on Thursday with a doubleheader against Benedictine University-Mesa. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. EST (1 p.m. local time) at Chandler-Gilbert Community College.