GOSHEN, Ind. — A five-run third inning got the Goshen College baseball team back into the game and a walk-off hit batter got it out of the game in an eight-inning, 7-6 win over Indiana Wesleyan University on Thursday at Sarge Yoder Field. The Wildcats claimed the second game of the Crossroads League doubleheader 10-2.

Indiana Wesleyan (26-14, 12-5) got off to a fast start over the first three innings, getting a pair of doubles in the second to go up 4-0 and a throwing error to go up 5-0 in the third. Goshen (15-20, 7-10) had other ideas, though, as the first six men to bat in the bottom of the third inning reached base.

Right fielder Chase Hunter led off with a single and took second when Brad Stoltzfus reached on a fielding error. Ben Longacre's double scored a run and put two men in scoring position, which lasted all of one batter before a Clinton Stroble II single brought the Maple Leafs within 5-3. Ryan Hartig and Colby Malson each singled, the latter driving in a run, and a fielder's choice sent the tying run to third. Kody McGuire knotted the score with an infield single.

Neither team scored, or even got a runner to third, again until the sixth, when the Wildcats pushed across an unearned run. Goshen would manufacture a tally in the bottom of the inning out of a Nolan Holcomb single, a groundout and two wild pitches.

IWU's offense went 0-for-6 in the last two innings as Malson shifted to the mound and struck out four of the six men he faced. The Maple Leaf offense loaded the bases in the seventh, leaving them loaded, but would not make the same mistake in the eighth.

Much like the third, Hunter and Stoltzfus started the rally with a pair of singles. Longacre was hit by a pitch with one out, loading the bases, before a fielder's choice saw the winning run cut down at the plate. Hartig didn't have to put the ball in play to end the game, though, taking a pitch off the elbow to drive in Longacre from third.

Stoltzfus and Hunter each finished the game with two hits, although Longacre's double was Goshen's only extra-base hit. Six of the Wildcats' eight hits were singles, a slight surprise on a day when the wind whipped out to right at 22 miles per hour. Stoltzfus and pinch-runner Bobby Garcia both scored twice for GC while Malson got the win in relief.

A pair of Bradys – designated hitter Horine and catcher West – had two hits each for IWU. Right fielder Steven Busby scored twice, but the teams combined to leave 19 men on base.

Indiana Wesleyan put up four runs in the first inning of the nightcap, buoyed by a three-run Horine blast, and never looked back on the way to a 10-2 win. The Wildcats also got a two-run jack from Sterling Smith in the third and a solo homer from Judah Wollenburg in the fourth.

Goshen nearly matched IWU in hit total (the Wildcats reached safely 12 times to Goshen's 11), but GC required three singles for each of its single runs. Stoltzfus knocked in McGuire in the second and Malson drove in Longacre in the fourth.

The second game was shortened to seven innings by conference rule after the first game required more than seven innings. Nevertheless, both teams used three pitchers, with neither starter reaching the fifth: both starters (IWU's Kyle Hall and Goshen's Chandler Ingle) took their team's decision.

Five Maple Leafs hit safely twice, but only one of Goshen's hits went for extra bases, and that McGuire double was followed by three straight outs. By virtue of a walk with his two singles, Stoltzfus paced Goshen with three times on base.

Shortstop Jordan Wharton rapped three singles for IWU while Horine and Wollenburg each had two hits: Horine drove in four runs, adding a seventh-inning double. Wharton also led all players with three runs scored.

Goshen and IWU are slated to meet again at 1 p.m. Saturday to complete their series before Goshen heads to Siena Heights for a Sunday doubleheader. As always, the schedule is subject to change due to weather: stay tuned to GoLeafs.net for the latest updates.