CHANDLER, Ariz. — The Goshen College softball team matched its program record for spring-break wins Thursday, claiming their seventh victory of the 2018 recess in a 5-4 win over Benedictine University at Mesa.

The Redhawks claimed a 9-4 win in the nightcap, leaving Goshen's final spring break record at 6-5; the Maple Leafs won six games in 2012 and five each in 1999, 2002 and 2010.

Rianna Koteles' two-run double opened the scoring for the Maple Leafs (8-11) with one out in the top of the third inning. She knocked in Candace Sutter, who led off the inning with a single, and Brooke Maes, who followed that up by reaching on an error. Before Koteles could get comfortable on second base, she too crossed the plate on a Leah Herrman single to run the score to 3-0.

Cassandra Espinoza and Katherine Boyer combined on an insurance run in the top of the fifth: the former smacked a leadoff double before the latter singled through the left side, canceling out a Redhawk run from the third inning. Goshen led 4-1 at the game's midpoint.

Benedictine added an unearned run after a leadoff single to get back to 4-2 after four frames, but the pitchers bowled strikes in scoreless fifth and sixth innings. The seventh inning would be a different story: after back-to-back singles to start the inning followed by a double play, Taylor Sutliff's hit to left brought in Koteles for a 5-2 GC lead.

The Redhawks quickly went to work in their last chance, starting the inning with a Morgan Haynes triple before a one-out Dayton Yingling double brought Haynes home and the tying run to the plate. A pinch-hitter grounded out to third, but Yingling broke for third and the throw across the diamond was errant, allowing the second baseman to score and pull her team within 5-4.

Alexis Carpenter nailed down the win before Goshen's record could be stained further, though, inducing a ground ball to first for the game-ending out. Carpenter fired a complete game, allowing seven hits and two earned runs. Starter Vanessa Marquez took the BU loss despite helping her own cause with a double; the Redhawk offense also got two hits each from Haynes and Yingling. Eight of nine GC starters recorded hits, buoyed by two each from Candace Sutter, Koteles and Herrman.

Goshen didn't lead wire-to-wire, per se, in either of its first two meetings with Benedictine. The Maple Leafs never trailed, but their lead didn't begin until the fourth batter on Sunday and the third inning Thursday. Both of those streaks unraveled quickly in the second game, as the hosts opened with three singles and took the lead before making their first out.  

A sacrifice fly and a pair of homers put the hosts (5-11) up 5-0 through two innings; a double and a single in the fifth made it 6-0 before Goshen got a runner to third base. Two Maple Leaf runners reached the penultimate outpost in quick succession an inning later, though: Maes doubled four pitches before Boyer homered to left, enabling both runners to complete the circuit for a 6-2 margin.

The Redhawks quickly responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning, starting off with a walk and two singles before adding a sacrifice fly, a run-scoring groundout and another hit for a 9-2 lead. Goshen started a rally in the seventh, opening the inning with a Carpenter single and an Allison White walk, but two quick outs meant that Maes' two-run double was the last scoring of the day.

Benedictine finished with 14 hits in game two, getting three apiece from Bianca Espinoza, Raychele Hernandez and Danielle Perez. All three players contributed extra-base hits: Jimenez drove in two runs and the remaining pair scored twice each. Yingling finished the complete-game win in the pitching circle with nine hits, four runs, two walks and a strikeout.

Maes finished 3-for-4 with two doubles to pace GC while Boyer was 2-for-4 with a homer; both players drove in two runs. Maes also worked four innings in relief, giving up six hits but just two runs.

GC takes an 11-day hiatus before stepping into conference play on Tuesday, March 13. Including a non-conference twinbill scheduled on April 19, the team will play 38 times during the 47 days of Crossroads League competition. The Maple Leafs open their league slate by visiting Gudakunst Field in Upland for a doubleheader against Taylor beginning at 4 p.m.