MISHAWAKA, Ind. - The Goshen baseball team lost both games of a doubleheader at Bethel on Thursday, as the games were moved up a day due to incoming weather. The Pilots won the first game 6-3 and the second game 9-2.

Alex Stout put the Pilots on the board in a big way in the first inning of game one. His three-run home run started the scoring, and Jeremy Wiersema hit an RBI double in the second to make it 4-0. Wiersema came into the day tied for the league lead in batting average.

Goshen had a big fourth inning to come back within a run. Preston Anderson singled to score Austin Martin, and Jenner Rodammer hit a two-run home run in the next at-bat to make the score 4-3. However, Bethel had RBI hits in the bottom of the fourth and eighth innings, and Goshen scored no runs after the fourth. The first four batters in Bethel's lineup each had two hits.

Eric Pettipiece struck out six batters and walked one in 5.2 innings on the mound but allowed five runs on nine hits. AJ Lenn and Josh Murphy pitched the final 2.1 innings in relief, combining to allow one earned run on two hits. Frank Plesac, the league leader in strikeouts, won on the mound for BU. Jenner Rodammer was 2-4 at the plate with a run and two RBIs. Trent Sillett had two singles.

The Pilots had a solid first inning in game two that made all the difference.

Leadoff hitter Andrew Miranda started the game with a home run to right field. It was the first of six hits the Pilots had in the inning, scoring six runs. Benjamin Witterstaetter was pulled from the game after two outs. Lance Wilson came to fill in and got the final out of the inning when Miranda was up to bat again and flied out.

The Pilots had a sac fly in the second, but Wilson allowed just one earned run in 4.1 innings in relief. He had two strikeouts, one walk, and allowed three hits. The Leafs got on the board in the third when Nate Lange hit an RBI single, and Peyton Smith added another RBI single in the sixth to make the score 7-2. Bethel had two runs in the bottom of the sixth and won by the final score of 9-2.

Brad VanOverberghe, the league leader in ERA, picked up his third win of the season, allowing two earned runs in six innings. His ERA was at 1.20 before the game and now sits at 1.71. Lange had two of Goshen's four hits - all singles. Preston Anderson got on base twice from walks and had a stolen base.

The series' final two games are at Bethel on Saturday, March 11, at 12:00 pm. Goshen is 6-12 and 2-4 in the Crossroads League.