FORT WAYNE, Ind. — The Goshen College softball team clinched its second consecutive postseason berth Friday when a 5-run second inning sparked a 10-4 win over the University of Saint Francis in the opener of a doubleheader at Westendorf Field in Fort Wayne. The Maple Leafs also held three separate leads in the second game, but USF came back every time for a 9-7 win to split the season series.
Rianna Koteles homered twice and drove in six of Goshen's 17 runs on the day as the Maple Leafs (20-30, 10-24) pounded out 21 hits. Ellie Van Heerde threw 105 pitches in a complete-game win in the pitching circle.
Saint Francis (16-28, 14-20) opened the scoring in the doubleheader with a double steal in the first inning, but that lead quickly evaporated with a two-out rally in the second. After Bernadette Quintero singled and Miranda Hipolito reached on an error, Kyra Wilson's base hit tied the game and Jolie Groeneveld added a go-ahead double to put GC up 3-1. Edith Vega chipped in a single before Van Heerde helped her own cause with a two-run hit that ran the lead to 5-1.
An Ashley Kent single got a run back for the Cougars in the second inning, but Goshen extended its lead on Koteles' sixth homer of the season, a two-run shot in the fourth that put the visitors up 7-2. Wilson added a sacrifice fly an inning later.
Each team scored twice in the seventh inning with Alisyn Catenacci crossing the plate on a fielder's choice and Wilson doubling home Hipolito for Goshen. That made the lead 10-2 before USF strung together a pair of hits with a walk and a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning.
Quintero led all players with 3 hits; Goshen out-hit USF 12-7 and had four extra-base knocks to the Cougars' one. Wilson drove in 3 runs and three Leafs brought in 2 apiece.
Edith Vega led off the second game with a GC single, then moved around the bases on a pair of errors to put the visitors right back in the lead. A throwing error on a stolen-base attempt let USF tie the game in the bottom of the frame for the first Cougar comeback of the night.
Koteles went yard in the third to put Goshen back in front 2-1; it was her sixth home run in the last four days, and only 10 other players in program history have hit that many in a season.
USF had even more than six hits up its sleeve, using seven in the third inning alone to pull ahead 6-2. The Cougars left the bases loaded in the fourth inning and Goshen did the same in the fifth, although an error and a pair of singles meant that the go-ahead run came to the plate.
Goshen took its third lead of the game on a four-run rally in the sixth. Hipolito led off with a triple and promptly scored on a sacrifice fly to pull within 6-4 before a Vega double and a Wilson single brought the go-ahead run to the plate again. It was Koteles, and while the Hollywood ending would have involved a 3-run homer, she added a sac fly of her own. The next batter, pinch-hitter Ashley Glazer, homered instead to put GC up 7-6.
Saint Francis took the lead before their next out, starting the inning with two singles and a Dani Karr double. One out later, Roni Hudson added an insurance sacrifice fly to make the score 9-7. Brooke Herron relieved Hudson in the circle and set Goshen down in order in the seventh to seal the win.
Vega, Koteles and Hipolito each racked up two hits in the loss while Kent and Cassidy Ferrer had 3 for USF.
GC will finish the regular season with the eighth seed in the Crossroads League tournament, which is set for next week at Indiana Wesleyan and Taylor universities. While the eight qualifying schools are set, Goshen is the only one locked into a specific seed; more information will be available after Saturday's games and the season ends on Monday. Goshen has now qualified for the postseason in two consecutive years following five straight misses from 2014-18; there was no postseason in college softball in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Goshen's schedule for the rest of the regular season is still up in the air based on whether Grace remains alive for multiple places in the standings or whether the Lancers are locked into a spot in the final Crossroads League table. If the games could make a difference in the final standings, GC will host Grace at 3 p.m. Monday; other options are being explored in case those games are not required. Stay tuned to GoLeafs.net for the latest developments.
