INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Goshen lost games to Marian on Sunday by scores of 11-8 and 6-5.
Axell Espino Montero had five hits in game one - the first time a Maple Leaf has had five hits in a game against an NAIA opponent since 2017.
Game One
Preston Carr was the last Maple Leaf with five hits in a game against an NAIA opponent, which also happened to be against Marian, on May 8, 2017. Espino Montero had Goshen's first hit of the game in the first inning, a single to left. He stole second and came around to score once
Fernando Marte Santana hit an RBI double later in the inning. The Leafs led 1-0, but the Knights were up 4-1 after two innings.
Nick Padron walked to start the top of the third, and then Espino Montero hit a two-run home run over the right field wall to pull Goshen within one. However, Marian scored three in the bottom of the third and another in the fourth to take a 8-3 lead. In the fifth, Padron and Espino Montero hit singles to start the inning.
Chase Smith singled to center and Padron scored.
In the sixth, Espino Montero got his fourth hit of the day with an RBI single up the middle that scored
Joey Paternostro. Montero had another stolen base later in the inning. The Knights padded their lead with two runs in the sixth and one in the eighth to go up 11-5. With one out in the ninth, Espino Montero completed his 5-5 day with a single to left. After
Chase Smith and
Fernando Marte Santana were hit by pitches,
Justin Dambruck reached base on an error and Espino Montero scored.
Joshua Rubio hit a two-out single to left that scored two more Goshen runs, but a flyout ended the game as the Leafs had two runners on base.
Espino Montero finished with four singles, a home run, three runs, four RBIs and two stolen bases. The Leafs had six errors, tied for their most in a game since March 20, 2021.
Corey Brown had the loss on the mound, going 2.1 innings and allowing four earned runs and seven total. He struck out four and walked two. In relief,
Dakota Perry and
Lance Wilson each struck out three and walked one. Perry pitched 2.2 innings and Wilson had three.
Game Two
Goshen didn't give up a lead in game two until the final pitch of the game.
The Leafs scored in the first as
Axell Espino Montero scored an unearned run after an error by the Marian first baseman. He had a double earlier in the inning, extending his hit streak to six consecutive at-bats. The Knights responded with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning on an RBI groundout.
Giacomo Padilla had a no-hitter going through 5.1 innings. Goshen scored a run in the fifth and the sixth to give him a 3-1 lead. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth, Padilla was taken out after allowing just one hit, striking out seven and walking five. Marian scored one run in the inning which was credited to Padilla, but
Josh Murphy eventually got out of the inning with Goshen's lead still intact.
With a runner on base,
Justin Dambruck tripled to right center in the top of the seventh and
Chase Smith scored. Dambruck scored on a sacrifice fly from
Fernando Marte Santana, sliding in to home plate to beat the throw.
Pedro Hernandez III came in for the save opportunity in the bottom of the ninth, with the Leafs ahead 5-2. The Knights quickly hit a double and a single, and a passed ball allowed a run to score. A walk then put runners at first and second, when Cole McManus hit a three-run walk-off home run to end the game, resulting in a 6-5 Marian victory.
Hernandez had the loss, allowing two earned runs in a third of an inning. The Leafs had just one error in the game compared to the five in the game before.
Nathan Pinedo had two of Goshen's six hits, both singles. He also had a walk and scored a run. Espino Montero had a double and Dambruck hit a triple.
Fernando Marte Santana was 2-2 with a walk and a sac fly.
Goshen is at Concordia (Mich.) on Tuesday, March 11, at 2:00 pm for a doubleheader.
