SPRING ARBOR, Mich. - Goshen lost twice at Spring Arbor on Saturday, but a loss from Grace in game one of their doubleheader with Mount Vernon Nazarene secured a Crossroads League tournament spot for the Leafs. Goshen will face Huntington at Spring Arbor University on Tuesday, April 30, at 2:00 pm.
Game One
After being down 8-1, Goshen had a massive six-run inning to pull them within one. But they couldn't complete the comeback in the seventh, and lost 9-7.
Spring Arbor had their own six-run inning in the bottom of the third. The runs came from a two-run single, double and triple in the inning. They had six hits in the bottom of the third and led 7-0 when it was said and done. Goshen scored in the fourth after
Carissa Fillingame advanced to third on a sac bunt and then came home on a throwing error. SAU scored in the fifth to make it 8-1.
The Goshen sixth inning started with a single by Fillingame and a walk from
Lily Robles. Next,
Alisyn Catenacci doubled to center field to score Fillingame. Then,
Kamille Badibanga sent the ball down the right field line and Robles and Catenacci scored. Badibanga scored on
Ellie Van Heerde's at-bat on a fielding error. With one out in the inning, Van Heerde scored on a throwing error and
Bianca Diamond scored on a wild pitch. Goshen was down 8-7 after the inning with five GC hits and two SAU errors.
Spring Arbor scored once in the bottom of the sixth to make it 9-7. The Maple Leafs had runners at first and second with no outs in the seventh but couldn't score.
Goshen had 12 hits in the game, including three singles from Fillingame. Fillingame scored twice as well.
Bianca Diamond,
Olivia Gibson,
Alisyn Catenacci and
Kamille Badibanga all had two hits each. Badibanga had a pair of RBIs.
Camryn Barrows threw all six innings on the mound. With the loss, her record moves to 8-7.
Less than 20 minutes after the Goshen loss, Mount Vernon Nazarene had a 6-2 win on the road at Grace, which ensured Goshen would have a spot in the Crossroads League tournament.
Game Two
The second game was a more lopsided contest, as Spring Arbor used an eight run and six hit third inning on the way to an 11-1 win.
Goshen's lone run came on a sac fly from
Bianca Diamond in the third that scored
Ellie Van Heerde and made the score 3-1 at the time. The Leafs had four hits, all singles. Badibanga had one of those singles, which made it her fourth straight game with at least one hit. Despite having a .069 batting average before Friday, it now stands at .262 after the games against Spring Arbor and Taylor.
Esme Pico allowed four earned runs in 2.1 innings as the starter and is now 7-5 this season. Emmalee Hamp is 19-7 with the win for the Cougars. SAU finishes the regular season with a 31-18 record and Goshen at 25-25.
Goshen will be the #8 seed in the Crossroads League tournament since Saint Francis wins the head-to-head tiebreaker (USF was 3-1 against GC this season). The Leafs will face five-seed Huntington on Tuesday, April 30, at 2:00 pm at Spring Arbor - the host site for the entire tournament. With a win against the Foresters, Goshen would then face Spring Arbor, the three-seed, on Wednesday at 12:00 pm. A win over Huntington would also move Goshen into the double-elimination portion of the bracket.
The locked seedings at softball are as follows: #1 Marian, #2 Indiana Wesleyan, #3 Spring Arbor, #4 Mount Vernon Nazarene, #5 Huntington, #6 Taylor, #7 Saint Francis and #8 Goshen.
