GOSHEN, Ind. –
Mia Pawelski threw another gem as the Maple Leafs softball team picked up their first Crossroads League win of the season. They defeated Grace 9-3 in game one before dropping game two, 5-3.
Bethany Gardner got the Lancers on the board first in game one with a solo home run to center in the third inning. Shea Van Scoter had an RBI double in the bottom half to tie things up. Goshen exploded for five runs in the fourth.
Claire Ouellette recorded two RBIs on a double to left-center.
Jessica Bachtell and VanScoter followed that with singles that brought in a run each. Then,
Ri Koteles hit a double to left-center that brought Bachtell around.
Grace scored once in the fifth, but Ouelette tallied her third RBI on a groundout in the bottom half. Koteles and McDonald had hits in the sixth that brought the lead to 9-2. Kendra Arnold's homer for the Lancers cut in on the lead, but Goshen won 9-3.
Mia Pawelski pitched the full seven innings for the Leafs. Besides the two home runs, she only allowed one other hit through the entire game. She had eight strikeouts, two walks, and three earned runs. She earned the win and is 4-3 this season. This was Pawelski's fourth start this season where she has allowed three or fewer hits. That makes up half of her starts this season – she has eight. Grace's starter, Jeri Ellis, allowed nine earned runs in six innings pitched.
While the Lancers only mustered three hits, Goshen had 16. VanScoter was 3-4 with two RBIs and a run. Koteles had three hits – two were doubles – an RBI and a run.
Olivia Gibson had a third consecutive game with three hits.
Alyssa McDonald went 2-4 with two runs scored and an RBI.
Goshen hitters had a season-high ten walks in game two, but they couldn't convert them into enough runs to get the win.
Grace scored once in the first and added two more runs in the second to go up 3-0. In the second,
Carissa Fillingame hit the first home run of her collegiate career to make the score 3-1. She contributed again in the third inning by walking in a run. Gibson did so as well in the fourth, and the game was tied.
It stayed neck and neck through the sixth. However, Grace got a runner in scoring position in the top of the seventh, and Jessica Kaurich's single broke the tie. Grace walked in a run later in the inning and won 5-3.
In seven innings pitched, VanScoter allowed four earned runs on five hits. Koteles hit two singles, but Goshen only racked up six hits as a team in game two.
Goshen (11-9, 1-5 CL) plays at Trinity Christian on Friday, March 25 at 3:00 pm EST in a doubleheader. The next home games will be against Bethel on Tuesday, April 5, at 3:00 pm. Those games will be a part of the U.S. Highway 20 Cup rivalry.
