GOSHEN, Ind. — Five Candace Sutter hits and a seventh-inning comeback earned the Goshen College softball team its first conference win Saturday in a doubleheader split with Saint Francis at the John Ingold Athletic Complex.

The Maple Leafs (9-14, 1-3) took the opener 6-5; despite another two-run rally in the bottom of the sixth in game two, the Cougars prevailed there 14-6 to finish the day all square.

Sutter needed just five pitches to get the Maple Leaf lineup moving in the bottom of the first, lashing a 2-2 pitch into center field for a single. She stole each of the next two bases before Katherine Boyer and Rianna Koteles filled in first and second with a hit batter and a walk, respectively.

Goshen got on the scoreboard on the game's sixth batter: the first pitch to Leah Herrman sailed over the catcher's head and allowed Sutter to cross the plate before Herrman doubled down the left-field line to clear the bases two pitches later. When the dust settled, GC led 3-0 after an inning.

The Cougars (10-8, 2-2) got single runs in the second and fourth innings, using a pair of singles each time coupled with a fielder's choice in the latter case to get within 3-2. Goshen left runners on base in each of the next four innings, but was unable to score again through the first five frames.

USF's breakthrough came in the top of the sixth when left fielder Madi Schwartz hit the first pitch back through the box for a single. She stole second and took third on a sacrifice bunt, putting the tying run on third base. The go-ahead run joined her at second after a hit batter and another steal, which was followed by a sacrifice fly and two straight singles to put the Cougars up 5-3.

Two of the first three Maple Leafs went down in the bottom of the sixth. Of course, it takes three outs to retire the side, and the third out proved harder to get. Sutter's one-out single turned into a runner on second after a Sandra Rodriguez groundout. Boyer knocked her in with a single to left, moving to second on the throw to cut the deficit in half.

Another two-out rally finished the job in the seventh. Taylor Sutliff knocked a 2-2 pitch into shallow right for a single before Allison White doubled off the left-field fence two pitches later to tie the game. Catcher Cassandra Espinoza hit the next pitch into left to leave runners on the corners before Sutter sent the GC faithful home happy four pitches later.

Sutliff finished the game 3-for-4 with a double for the Maple Leafs, who posted four two-base hits. Alexis Carpenter got the win in the pitching circle by scattering nine hits in an 89-pitch complete game. Eight of the nine USF hits were singles and three of those came from Schwartz. Lizzie Meyer added a double.

Sutter's five-hit game marked the first by a Maple Leaf since at least 2008, representing the era for which play-by-play of every game is available.

The walk-off win was Goshen's second of the season after an extra-inning win over Arizona Christian on February 24; that game-winner also came with two away after a game-extending single with the team down to its final strike.

Saint Francis turned the tables vigorously in the second game, scoring at least twice in each of the first four innings to take an 11-0 lead after 3½ frames. Goshen responded with a two-run homer off the bat of Rodriguez with no outs in the bottom of the inning before singles from Sutliff, Sutter, Boyer and Koteles closed the gap to 11-4.

Neither team mustered a baserunner in the fifth inning; the Cougars tacked on three scores without the benefit of a hit in the sixth.

Goshen's first three batters all reached base in the bottom of the inning as hits from Sutter and Boyer bookended a Brooke Maes sacrifice bunt that involved Maes reaching on a throwing error. Boyer's hit moved Sutter across the plate while both remaining runners moved into scoring position on a fielding error. Maes came home on a Koteles sacrifice fly, but a groundout would end the inning and, with the score 14-6, the game.

The two teams combined for 41 baserunners in game two, which lasted an hour and 52 minutes despite the mercy rule trimming an inning off the affair. Six GC players recorded multiple hits, paced by three from Boyer, while every USF starter had at least one. Boyer and Koteles each drove in two GC runs.

First baseman Morgan Hubble singled thrice for the Cougars: shortstop Cassidy Ferrer drove in a game-high three runs with a single and a double. The top third of the USF order batted .400 with four walks and seven runs batted in. Brooke Herron got the complete-game win with 14 hits, two strikeouts and 89 pitches.

Goshen will return to Crossroads League action with a road trip this week, albeit three days later than originally planned. The doubleheader at Indiana Wesleyan scheduled for Tuesday has been postponed to April 6 due to weather concerns, so GC will head to Taylor University for a 4 p.m. twinbill on Friday before visiting Mount Vernon Nazarene on Saturday.