GOSHEN, Ind. – It's always a good day when you beat Bethel. It's a fantastic day when you do it twice.
 
The Maple Leafs baseball team accomplished that latter achievement on Sunday, beating the Pilots 4-2 and 5-2. Bethel was coming into the day on a five-game winning streak.
 
"Bethel has been playing some excellent baseball lately," said head coach Alex Childers after the games. "Putting a full day of baseball together against the team right down the road was important for this squad."
 
The day got off to a great start when Goshen's leadoff hitter, Nate Lange, homered to left-center in the first inning in game one. Bethel answered with a run in the fourth, but the Leafs quickly answered in the bottom half when Peyton Smith's sac fly to center scored Jenner Rodammer.
 
Camm Nickell started on the mound for Goshen. Despite walking four batters, he allowed just one run and two hits in 4.2 innings on 76 pitches. Eric Pettipiece continued to dominate when he took the mound. He struck out four and didn't walk any. In 4.1 innings, he gave up one run.
 
Bethel had tied the game in the top of the seventh when Thomas Dolan hit a solo homer to left. But just like the fourth inning, Goshen rebounded quickly when Justin Harris singled, and Gabe Kermode came around to score. Then in the eighth, Rodammer added some flair with a home run to left that made it 4-2 – the final score.
 
The Pilots outhit the Maple Leafs 8-6, but Goshen was able to bring their baserunners home. Rodammer had two of Goshen's six hits – the home run and a double.
 
Bethel scored first in game two. Down 1-0 in the first, GC racked up four hits in the inning and put three runs on the board. Smith hit a two-RBI single that scored Rodammer and Lange before Joseph Cerda's double scored Kyle Staelgraeve. Goshen tacked on three more hits and two more runs in the second. Nickell doubled to center, and Rodammer and Giacomo Padilla scored to make it 5-1.
 
Peyton Smith allowed just one earned run in five innings pitched. He has only allowed one earned run in his last 11 innings pitched.
 
Bethel knocked in one run on an RBI single in the sixth, but the Leafs won 5-2. Rodammer was 3-4 in this game with a double, two runs scored, and a stolen base. Evan Creager was 2-3 with a stolen base, and Gage Andrews went 2-3.
 
This is Goshen's first doubleheader sweep of the year and their first since March 4, 2020, against Lincoln College. The last conference doubleheader sweep for the Maple Leafs was on April 22, 2019, against Mount Vernon Nazarene.
 
"We've said all year that it starts on the mound, and our pitchers really set the tone today," shared Childers. "We made some huge pitches and defensive plays to get us out of jams. Camm and Peyton gave us great starts, and Eric and Josh Murphy held it down out of the pen."
 
Childers also had great things to say about the team's leading hitter, Jenner Rodammer. "Jenner had a breakout day, not just at the plate but defensively, too," he said. "It's awesome to see his confidence grow and the huge plays he makes from a defensive standpoint while also coming through with some big at-bats."
 
While Bethel has already secured the US Highway 20 Cup for the 2021-22 school year, Goshen adds half a point to their total with the two wins today. Bethel now leads 7.75 to 4.25. The remaining half point will be decided when the teams play their remaining two games tomorrow, April 11. They play in Goshen starting at 1:00 pm.