FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Edith Vega had a four-hit day Sunday and scored the tying run in the seventh inning of a softball doubleheader before Cassandra Espinoza knocked in Jolie Groeneveld for the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth as Goshen College split with Indiana Tech, winning 6-5 and losing 7-0 at Warrior Park.
Ashley Glazer doubled twice and drove in a pair of runs for the Maple Leafs (21-31), who scored six unanswered runs in the final three frames of the extra-inning opener before being limited to four singles in the second game. Also in the first game, Mia Pawelski picked up her 11th win of the season, a feat only accomplished by four GC players before her, and struck out 10 batters to move into a tie for second place on the GC single-season punchout list.
Indiana Tech (17-27) got a pair of doubles from Hannah Middlebrooks in the opener and a shutout from Sarah Ratledge in the second game, which saw the Warriors score in five of their six offensive innings. Seven of Tech's 12 runs were of the unearned variety.
Goshen's 21st win of the season in the opener eclipsed the 2019 team's total for the second-most wins in program history. Only the 2001 squad, which went 24-12 and advanced to the NAIA Region VIII tournament as the conference runner-up, has more victories. The win was also Goshen head coach Juliaclare Plezbert's first victory over her alma mater.
That win seemed improbable for the first few innings, though, as GC mustered one hit through the first 4 2/3 innings and gave up a 5-run rally in the bottom of the fourth to fall behind 5-0. Middlebrooks cracked a two-run double to open the scoring and scored on a single before Emma Kelley's pinch-hit 2-run two-bagger continued the carnage.
Groeneveld's triple in the fifth marked the start of the Goshen offensive uprising as Glazer laced an RBI double with one out in the sixth and Pawelski singled her home two batters later.
In the seventh inning, Olivia Gibson led off with a single and Groeneveld reached on an unsuccessful fielder's choice, which brought Vega to the plate as the tying run with no outs. A single through the left side left runners on the corners in a 5-3 game before Groeneveld scored on a throwing error and Glazer doubled in the tying run. Bernadette Quintero and Mia Pawelski each came up as the potential go-ahead run, only for the Maple Leafs to strand a pair of runners.
After two outs in the eighth, Groeneveld and Vega each singled back through the box to set up Espinoza's go-ahead hit. After Middlebrooks led off the bottom of the frame with a double, Pawelski punched out the next hitter and the following batter flied into a game-ending double play.
Tech scored three unearned runs in the first two innings of game two while holding Goshen to an infield single from Rianna Koteles in that span.
The Maple Leafs got the tying run to the plate in the third, but a pair of bunts failed to score a run and a pickoff ended the inning. Goshen also left the bases loaded in the fourth.
The Warriors pushed the lead out to 4-0 in the fourth after a leadoff double from Karsyn Kitchen and added two more scores on three hits in the fifth. The final tally in the sixth involved a walk, two wild pitches and an infield single.
Goshen used three pitchers in its final tuneup with Quintero taking the loss. She also had a hit along with Vega, Koteles and Stacey Landry. Kitchen, Jamison Turk and Payton Robinson hit safely twice for the hosts.
Goshen will learn the identity of its next opponent Monday as a doubleheader between Indiana Wesleyan and Mount Vernon Nazarene determines the order of the top two schools in the Crossroads League standings. If Indiana Wesleyan sweeps the doubleheader, it will win the conference and play GC Wednesday in the first round of the CL tournament; a split, a MVNU sweep or a rainout would give Marian the title and the right to play the Maple Leafs.
In either case, Goshen will open the conference tournament at 10 a.m. Wednesday morning; the morning winners play again at 3 p.m. and the losers meet at 5 p.m. in an elimination game. All four games on that side of the bracket will be played at Taylor University in Upland, Indiana.
