MELBOURNE, Fla. - The Goshen softball team went 2-0 on their first day of the Space Coast Spring Games and improved their record this season to 5-1. They beat British Columbia in the first game 5-3 and took down Michigan-Dearborn in the Legacy Game, 4-3 in nine innings.

Goshen vs British Columbia
Goshen's first of ten games in a series of five days began in 70 degree weather. Alisyn Catenacci was on the mound and didn't allow any runs her first two innings. The Leafs got their first runs when Carissa Fillingame hit an RBI triple in the second, her first of three hits in the game. She scored a run on Kyra Wilson's RBI groundout later in the inning. Rachel Kates scored Goshen's third run in the fourth inning on a fielder's choice that Ellie Van Heerde reached base on.

The Thunderbirds scored two runs on two triples in the third. The first batter tripled to right but scored on a Goshen throwing error. The next batter singled, and she scored after another triple later in the inning. Catenacci allowed a single to start the fourth and Camryn Barrows came in to pitch. British Columbia scored a run credited to Catenacci but Barrows got out of the inning and the Maple Leafs held onto a 4-3 lead.

Barrows didn't allow any earned runs in her four innings in the circle. She walked four batters but allowed just one hit and struck out five. Goshen scored an insurance run in the seventh when Bianca Diamond hit an RBI single to score Shea VanScoter. That made it 5-3, which would be the final score.

Carissa Fillingame was a home run away from a cycle - she had a single, a double and a triple in her three at-bats. She scored once and had an RBI. Kaylee Kates, Shea VanScoter, Bianca Diamond, Ella Mcleod and Alisyn Catenacci all had a hit each.

Goshen vs Michigan-Dearborn
Goshen's second game of the night was the Space Coast Spring Games' Legacy Game held at Space Coast Stadium. The stadium seats 8,100 and boasts a turf field and video board, where Goshen and Michigan-Dearborn had their names and pictures displayed throughout the night. The field was the former spring training facility for the Florida Marlins, Montreal Expos and the Washington Nationals.

The Legacy Game left a legacy in Goshen softball history, as the Leafs won an extra-inning thriller.

The teams were scoreless after three innings in what was shaping up to be a pitcher's duel between Michigan-Dearborn's Hannah Koch and Goshen's Esme Pico. The Wolverines struck first in the top of the fourth with an RBI single and again on an RBI triple in the sixth to take a 2-0 lead. Goshen had two hits through the first five innings but produced three in the sixth inning alone that led to three runs.

Shea VanScoter started the inning with a single to center field and then stole second base. Later on, Ella Mcleod doubled to left center and VanScoter came around to score the first GC run. With two outs in the inning, Mckenzie Richardson came in as a pinch hitter for Kamille Badibanga and she delivered with a crucial two-RBI single to left that scored Mcleod and Hailey Elgan.

Michigan-Dearborn scored on a groundout to tie the game at 3-3 in the seventh. Goshen had three straight outs in the bottom of the inning to send it to extras.

The Wolverines had three straight outs in the eighth and the Leafs couldn't capitalize in the bottom half. In the ninth, Michigan-Dearborn went down 1-2-3 again with two groundouts and a swinging strikeout. Shea VanScoter pitched the scoreless eighth and ninth innings for the Leafs. In the bottom of the ninth, Olivia Gibson was Goshen's runner starting at second base and Ella Mcleod was first to bat. Gibson advanced to third on a wild pitch in the at-bat, and then Mcleod sent out a sacrifice fly to center and Gibson made it home in time to score the winning run.

Goshen is now 5-1 this season and has a 9-3 record at the Space Coast Spring Games. Last season, two of their three Florida losses came to Michigan-Dearborn. Shea VanScoter earned the win and Esme Pico allowed two earned runs in five innings as the starter. The five hits for the Maple Leafs came from five different batters - Kaylee Kates, Shea VanScoter, Olivia Gibson, Ella Mcleod and Mckenzie Richardson.

On Tuesday, Goshen faces Webber International at 4:45 pm and Oakland City at 7:00 pm.