GOSHEN, Ind. — Ellie Van Heerde and Rianna Koteles came through with go-ahead hits in the sixth inning of both games of a doubleheader Thursday and the Goshen College softball team swept Senior Day from Bethel University at the John Ingold Athletic Complex, winning 6-5 and 2-1.
Van Heerde's two-run single capped a four-run sixth-inning rally in the opener while Koteles' school-record 20th career home run broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth inning of the second game and the Maple Leafs overtook the Pilots to slide into the eighth and final spot in next week's Crossroads League tournament entering the final weekend of the season.
Mia Pawelski struck out 12 Pilots in game two after fanning two of the three batters she faced while getting the save in game one. That figure was the most by a Maple Leaf team or individual in a 7-inning game since Sierra Van De Keere fanned 14 in a complete-game win over Concordia University of Michigan on Feb. 25, 2010.
Her 14 total strikeouts on the day pushed Pawelski into a tie for the third-most in a season in GC history with 109; that figure is also good for the 10th-most in a Maple Leaf career.
Following a weather delay and the senior recognition for the class of 2021, the game got underway at 3:53 p.m. EDT under clearing skies. Bethel second baseman Quinn Slattman quickly made the Maple Leafs (19-29, 9-23) wonder if they should have simply called the game, lining a leadoff homer to the left of the center-field flagpole for a 1-0 Pilot lead.
Mahri Younger's single set up a run on a force play later in the inning as the Pilots went up 2-0 and Yadi Gomez hit a sacrifice fly in the second to push the lead to 3-0. Miranda Hipolito's one-out triple in the bottom of the second set up a Cassandra Espinoza sacrifice fly to score Goshen's first run; Alisyn Catenacci cut the deficit in half with a moonshot to left-center that made it 3-2 in the third.
The Pilots (15-38, 8-26) tacked on another run in the fourth inning, getting a two-out rally on a walk and a throwing error, before pulling ahead 5-2 on a Gomez single in the sixth. BU added two outs in the bottom of the inning before things began to unravel when Edith Vega's ground ball split the wickets of a Bethel infielder.
After a stolen base, Kyra Wilson's pinch-hit single drove in the first run; she moved to second on an error as Koteles came to the plate as the tying run. Her single left runners on the corners and Catenacci followed that with a base hit to close the deficit to 5-4 and move the tying run to third.
Bernadette Quintero walked to load the bases, putting two runners into scoring position for Van Heerde's single through the hole at short. After a Pilot pitching change, a popout ended the inning, and while all four runs were unearned, GC now led 6-5.
Pawelski relieved Quintero in the circle for the seventh and struck out the first batter she faced. After a one-out walk and a single put the tying run in scoring position for Bethel, Pawelski flagged down a popup near the foul line at first and struck out the last batter to seal the win.
Quintero took the win in the circle, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits and 76 pitches in 4 2/3 innings, with Pawelski picking up her first save at GC. Catenacci went 4 for 4 with Koteles and Van Heerde adding two hits apiece.
In game two, Goshen took the lead on three singles and a passed ball in the second inning before Pawelski just about shut out GC's local rival. While the shutout ended on an RBI double in the fifth, Koteles' fourth homer in the last three days provided all the margin her pitcher needed in the sixth inning and the Pilots went down in order in the seventh.
BU threatened in the first inning, starting the game with two singles and a double steal before GC third baseman Stacey Landry cut down a runner at the plate.
Goshen's first chance came in the bottom of the second when Van Heerde and Landry each singled with one out. After some baserunning misadventure, a strikeout kept Goshen alive when Kyra Wilson advanced on a passed ball and Jolie Groeneveld made the Pilots pay with a single back through the box to score Landry.
Bethel left runners on in scoring position in the third and fourth innings before scoring in the fifth on a Gomez single and a Shelby Prows double as Pawelski struck out the side around that. In the bottom of the inning, Wilson led off by getting hit with a pitch, but a double play erased that runner.
After a fielding error to start the top of the sixth, the Pilots went down in order and Koteles put the home team back in front on a 1-2 pitch with one out in the bottom of the inning. Wilson caught two foul pops in the seventh and Pawelski fanned the final hitter.
Each starter went the distance in game two with Pawelski throwing 7 innings and allowing 1 run on 7 hits with 107 pitches. Bethel's Hannah Frady also allowed a single earned run and 5 hits with 4 punchouts on 66 pitches. Koteles, Prows and Frady each had two hits and Haley Stinson swiped two bases for BU.
The wins helped Goshen close within 7½-4½ in the U.S. Highway 20 Cup rivalry trophy series with Bethel; next week's CL outdoor track championship will close out the slate for the year in that contest.
The Maple Leafs will continue their regular-season slate on Friday when they travel to the University of Saint Francis for a doubleheader at 3 p.m. EDT on Westendorf Field. At the same time, Bethel will host a doubleheader with Taylor in Mishawaka and Grace will be visiting Spring Arbor in Michigan. The Maple Leafs will clinch a tournament berth with any combination of three Goshen wins or Grace losses and either a Goshen win or a Bethel loss.
The games with Grace College that were postponed on Saturday, April 17, will not be made up on Monday if they do not affect the final order of the conference standings. Stay with GoLeafs.net throughout the weekend and into next week for the latest on the CL softball playoff picture.
