WESTFIELD, Ind. – One of the most noteworthy seasons in Goshen softball history came to an end on Wednesday evening in the Crossroads League Tournament at Grand Park. The Maple Leafs earned a six-seed in the tourne, but lost their first game to three-seed Mount Vernon Nazarene 7-3, and their second game to seven-seed Huntington 5-2.
 
The Maple Leafs end the season with 24 wins – tied for a program record. The 14 conference wins set a new program record.
 
Shea VanScoter got the Leafs on the board early against MVNU. As the leadoff hitter, she hit a home run to left field on the fifth pitch of the game to put Goshen on the board. The Cougars came back with an RBI single from Kaycee Ollis in the bottom half to tie it up.
 
Then in the third, MVNU had a four-run inning to put them in the driver's seat. Three of those four runs were unearned, as Goshen committed three errors in that frame. Goshen starter Mia Pawelski would last 3.1 innings – allowing six runs but only three earned runs.
 
Pawelski contributed on the offensive end in the top of the fourth when her RBI single scored Jessica Bachtell and cut the lead to three. However, a solo shot by Kylee Matern in the bottom of the fourth brought the lead to 6-2.
 
Goshen had the bases loaded in the fifth but couldn't produce any runs. They had them loaded again in the sixth when a pitch hit Ri Koteles and a run scored. That was all the Maple Leafs could bring in, though. The Cougars got another run on an RBI double in the sixth to make it 7-3, which would be the final score.
 
Goshen set themselves up for scoring opportunities, but they left ten runners on base in the final four innings. Mount Vernon was coming off their school record 36-win season – surpassing the 35 wins set by their 1992 team.
 
With the win, #3 MVNU went on to play #2 Marian in the winner's bracket. The loss put #6 Goshen in a matchup with #7 Huntington in the loser's portion of the bracket. One more loss would send Goshen out of the tournament.
 
The Leafs had just faced the Foresters five days ago on Senior Day – Goshen came away with a win and a loss that day.
 
The starting pitchers were at the top of their game in this one. Both teams were scoreless through the first three. Huntington cracked through first with an RBI single in the fourth. Shea VanScoter had the start for Goshen, and she went five innings and allowed just one earned run.
 
GC would get on the board immediately after in the top of the fifth. Jessica Bachtell's RBI single with the bases loaded scored Edith Vega and Alyssa McDonald, and the Maple Leafs had their first lead of the game.
 
Goshen held that lead until the bottom of the sixth. At that point, Huntington scored four runs from three hits, three walks, and one batter being hit by a pitch. With a 5-2 lead, the Foresters got through the top of the seventh fairly quickly and survived and advanced to Thursday's tournament action.
 
Koteles was 2-2 with two doubles and two walks. Claire Ouellette had a couple of singles.
 
With their second loss, the Maple Leafs are now out of the double-elimination tournament, and their season has come to a close. It was a monumental year for the Leafs that included an eight-game win streak and numerous school records being broken. Freshman Shea VanScoter crushed the season doubles record with 22 – beating the previous record of 15 held by Emily Cummings in 2019.
 
Senior Ri Koteles set records for home runs in a season (13), career hits (160), career doubles (48), career RBIs (150), and career walks (90). She extended her career home run record (35), which she set last season, and she also holds the career triples record with nine. However, freshman Alyssa McDonald tied the season triples record today. She hit her fifth triple of the season, which is tied with the five triples from Koteles in the 2021 season.
 
The Crossroads League Tournament continues Thursday and Friday at Marian University.