GOSHEN, Ind. - With an 8-5 game one win against Spring Arbor on Thursday, Goshen baseball surpassed the win total from the 2023 team. They also matched the number of conference wins from a year ago. The Leafs lost game two 13-4.
Game One
A five-run third inning produced much of the offense that Goshen would need in game one, and
Lance Wilson came into the game earlier than expected but still took care of business.
Down 1-0 in the third,
Joshua Rubio came up to bat first for the Leafs and was hit by a pitch.
Andres Garcia doubled down the left field line to put runners at second and third, and the Cougars intentionally walked
Jenner Rodammer to load the bases.
Trent Sillett walked in a run, and
Peyton Smith hit a sac fly to center to score another.
Justin Dambruck followed it with another sac fly to give Goshen a 3-1 lead with two outs.
Curtis Huffman walked, and
Chase Smith hit a popup that dropped in shallow left field for a hit, causing two runs to score. By the inning's end, the Maple Leafs held a 5-1 lead.
Peyton Smith threw just one inning and 12 pitches before coming out of the game, though he continued to hit.
Lance Wilson came in and threw the next 6.2 innings, allowing just one earned run on three hits. It is the longest outing of Wilson's collegiate career. He is a sophomore from Romeoville, Illinois.
Peyton Smith hit a two-run double in the seventh that took Goshen's lead up to six. With two outs in the top of the eighth, Spring Arbor's Connor Dee hit a grand slam to make it 7-5. The runs were all unearned.
Joshua Rubio had an RBI single in the bottom half of the inning, and
Braxton Pratt got the last four outs of the game without allowing any hits, earning the save for the Leafs, which was his first of the season.
Wilson improved to 2-3 with the win. The three hits allowed by the Goshen pitching staff is the fewest they have allowed in a nine-inning game since also allowing three at Marian on March 2 last season. They won that game 7-2. Goshen had just six hits but added seven walks as well.
Andres Garcia was 2-4 with a double, a run and a walk. After the game he had a batting average of .400.
Peyton Smith had three RBIs.
Jenner Rodammer,
Trent Sillett and
Curtis Huffman all had a pair of walks.
Game Two
The Cougars jumped to a 7-0 lead in the second game before Goshen made strides in the fourth inning.
Curtis Huffman scored the first GC run on a wild pitch. Later in the inning,
Chris Godden hit a two-RBI single. By the time
Trent Sillett came to home on
Justin Dambruck's fifth-inning RBI single, the Leafs were down just 7-4.
Spring Arbor, however, had a six-run seventh inning and ended up winning by nine runs. They had 14 hits, five of which came in the seventh inning.
David Lopez had the loss for Goshen, allowing seven runs in three innings.
Andres Garcia had two of the team's five hits and two RBIs.
The Maple Leafs (11-15, 6-8 CL) conclude the series with the Cougars on Saturday, March 23, at 1:00 pm in Goshen.
