OWENSBORO, Ky. – Three home runs in game one wasn't enough for the Goshen baseball team in Owensboro, Kentucky, on Sunday. They lost to Brescia 5-4 in the first game and 8-5 in game two.
With two outs in the first inning of game one,
Nate Lange singled, and then
Camm Nickell's first home run of the season gave the Leafs a quick 2-0 lead. In the third, the Bearcats had a home run of their own – a three-run shot by Gavin Reames. They tacked on two more runs in the fourth with RBI singles from Jacob Upshaw and Hunter Canada.
Down 5-2,
Morgan Baker worked to erase the deficit. He hit his first home run of the season in the fifth and then did it again in the seventh. However, the two solo shots were all that Goshen was able to supply, and they lost 5-4. Three of the six hits for GC were via the long ball. Nickell had a single and an additional RBI to go along with his home run. Lange and
Joseph Cerda also supplied hits for the Leafs.
Nickell allowed five earned runs on eight hits in five innings on the mound. He falls to 2-1 this season.
Eric Pettipiece threw an inning in relief without giving up a run and striking out two. Tyler Milby earned the win for the Bearcats. He allowed three earned runs in six innings. Preston Franey captured his first save of the season.
The three home runs for Goshen were the most they had displayed in a game since April 27, 2019, against Grace when they hit four. That same game was the last time the Leafs had someone with a multi-homer game. Jason Grooms and
Mitchell Wilson both accomplished that feat in that 2019 game, but now Baker is the most recent to do so. Goshen only hit four home runs all season in 2021 and just two in the abbreviated 2020 season.
The Leafs started very strong in game two. They had the bases loaded after the first three batters, and a
Peyton Smith single brought
Jenner Rodammer home.
Brescia would score the subsequent eight runs, however – five of them coming from home runs. Upshaw had a two-run bomb in the first, and Wyatt Griskey had a solo shot in the second to take a 3-1 lead. After a sacrifice fly brought in a run, Cameron Dean added a homer in the second before Upshaw followed with his second of the game. At this point, it was 6-1, but the Bearcats added another run in the third and one in the fourth.
After the early Brescia offense,
Josh Murphy threw four innings in relief for the Leafs – allowing just one earned run on four hits. Goshen had a break in the sixth when Nickell scored on a wild pitch to make it 8-2. They continued to fight back in the seventh. With two outs, another Smith single scored Rodammer, later followed by a single by Baker that brought in
Trent Sillett and Smith. That made it 8-5 before the final out ended the game.
Smith was 2-3 with a run, two RBIs, and a walk. Baker went 2-4 with a double and two RBIs. Rodammer was 2-4 with a double and two runs.
Jack Bennett had the loss, allowing five earned in two innings pitched. Preston Hendershot had the win for the home team, striking out six and giving up two earned runs in five innings.
Brescia is now 3-7, and Goshen falls to 3-5. Goshen stays in Owensboro to face Spring Arbor on Monday, February 28, at 10:30 am EST. The doubleheader games are non-conference.
