MAY 20 — Hoober Steps Down From Coaching Position
Four-year head coach leaves program at pinnacle of success for personal reasons

Brent Hoober

Goshen, IN — The Goshen College athletic department announced the resignation of head baseball coach Brent Hoober on Thursday, ending a four-year coaching tenure with the institution. Hoober resigned after leading his team to a 24-20 finish in the 2004 baseball season, the third-highest win total in school history.

“We are sorry to see Brent leave Goshen College and the baseball program,” said Ken Pletcher, Goshen College athletics director. “He has done a great job in improving our baseball program during the last four years and has worked hard to promote Goshen College athletics. We will certainly miss his enthusiasm and dedication, as he has been a great baseball coach and friend. We wish him the very best as he leaves Goshen College.”

Hoober compiled an overall record of 54-107 (.335) in his four years as head baseball coach, gradually improving the team from six wins in his first season to 24 this spring. Hoober coached an NAIA All-American, four All-Mid-Central Conference performers and a two-time NAIA All-America Scholar Athlete during his tenure, with perhaps no feat being larger than this season’s team results: Hoober’s squad shattered four team school records in 2004 — including obliterating the program record for home runs in a season with 62 (the old record was 27). Goshen narrowly missed advancing to NAIA post-season play, finishing as the fourth-place team in the Mid-Central Conference with a 12-15 league record. This year’s squad also made 31 changes to the single season top ten individual records in Goshen College baseball history, while senior Josh Keister set new career records in six offensive categories.

Hoober cited personal reasons for stepping down, as his resignation included his position as Director of the Roman Gingerich Recreation-Fitness Center, Goshen’s athletic facility. He will continue to serve as the facility director until his contract expires on June 30th, when he will then pursue a position in the insurance field.

“My decision to change careers has come as a major surprise to a lot of people,” Hoober said on Thursday. “We have been able to accomplish a lot of positive things in the Rec-Center and in our baseball program over the last four years here at Goshen College. As my wife and I began thinking about a family, however, the decision became fairly clear to me. At this point in my life being a devoted husband and father needs to take precedent over everything else. If the right situation presented itself I could easily see getting back into coaching or college administration again somewhere down the road. Although, for right now I look forward to spending more quality time with my family and to the many new challenges that my new career will present.”

Pletcher said the athletic department will begin its search for a new baseball coach immediately. With just four seniors on this year’s team and a strong recruiting base already in place, Goshen’s new head coach will have a strong foundation to work with.

“As I have preached to many over the last four years, Goshen College is an exciting place to be,” Hoober said. “I've always thought that the people are what make any institution or business a success. My colleagues in the student life department and athletics are as quality as you will find. With the current leadership in these two areas I am expecting nothing less than continued class and success in every aspect.

“Goshen College will always be a special place to me,” he continued. “It is where I started my career and where I was able to establish myself as a professional. As the director of the Recreation Fitness Center and baseball coach I was able to build many relationships that I value a great deal. I plan to remain a proud member of the Goshen community with the hope that these relationships will continue. I look for good things to continue to happen at Goshen College and plan to support their mission anyway I can.”

Hoober came to Goshen in the fall of 2000, after serving as an assistant coach at Anderson University (NCAA Division III) for four years. He was an integral part of Anderson’s 1998 trip to the Division III World Series in Salem, Virginia, and helped the Ravens to winning seasons in each of his four years there.

Check back to this website for the most up-to-date coaching and team information, including recruiting and off-season news.

MAY 5 — Goshen Season Concludes With Huntington Win
Leafs finish in fourth place in Mid-Central Conference; narrowly miss post-season

Head coach Brent Hoober

Huntington, IN — In a fittingly odd fashion, the Goshen College 2004 baseball season concluded Tuesday night without the Leafs even stepping on the field.

Huntington College’s 8-0 and 11-4 sweep of Taylor University gave the Foresters outright possession of third place in the Mid-Central Conference Tuesday night, the final slot for NAIA regional qualification. Goshen needed Huntington to drop both games to Taylor and then lose a pair to Indiana Wesleyan University to have a chance at finishing in third and advancing to the post-season, but Huntington’s wins kept that from happening.

Goshen’s final complete game and partial game came on Saturday, when the Leafs lost to Taylor by a 2-4 count in the first of a twin bill and then led by a 4-2 margin in the second game before being rained out in the fourth inning.

With this turn of events, Goshen finishes the season with an overall record of 24-20 and a conference mark of 12-15, good for a fourth place MCC finish. This is the best conference finish a Goshen team has had under fourth-year head coach Brent Hoober.

Check back to this website for the most up-to-date team information and recruiting news throughout the spring signing period and summer months.

MAY 1 — Goshen Must Wait To See If It Reaches Post-Season
Rain out, loss to Taylor puts team in odd position as bizarre MCC race nears end

Freshman Sean Cook

Upland, IN — Prior to Saturday, the Mid-Central Conference race for the final post-season slot was fairly simple to follow.

Mother Nature apparently wanted to make things more confusing.

With the MCC’s top three teams advancing to NAIA regional action, Huntington College, Goshen and Taylor University all have a chance to claim that final position. After Goshen’s 2-4 loss at Taylor University Saturday afternoon, the rain and strong winds helped to suspend the second contest with Goshen leading by a 4-2 score in the fourth inning. Meanwhile, Huntington wasn’t able to play either of its games against Indiana Wesleyan University due to the weather, putting Goshen in a bizarre position: The team will wait and see what Huntington College does against Indiana Wesleyan (the make up date is set for Thursday) and then Taylor (to be played Tuesday). Pending the outcome of those games, Goshen could resume its second game against Taylor on Thursday. Or, if Huntington should win enough to claim total possession of third place in the MCC, the Leafs-Trojans make-up game wouldn’t take place at all, and Goshen’s season would be over.

“Our second game against Taylor will not be finished unless there are regional playoff implications for either Goshen or Taylor,” said Goshen head coach Brent Hoober. “Mathematically, both of us (Goshen and Taylor) have a chance to represent the Mid-Central Conference in the regional tournament. Although, a lot has to happen in the next couple of days for this game to take place.”

Goshen (24-20, 12-15) can only hope that Huntington will lose all four of its games in the next two days, which would give Taylor a 12-14 MCC record and Huntington a 12-16 mark. Should the Foresters be swept by Indiana Wesleyan and then Taylor, Saturday’s second game between Goshen and the Trojans would be concluded Thursday in Upland, with the winner going on to the NAIA regional tournament.

The Leafs could have helped themselves by beating Taylor in Saturday’s first game, but it was the Trojans that coped with the poor playing conditions better than Hoober’s team. Sophomore Ben Taylor (5-5) pitched well despite recording his third straight loss on the mound, while three Goshen errors didn’t help the cause. Taylor scored all four runs in the first three innings, while Goshen couldn’t make a comeback as the weather worsened.

“It was raining and windy the entire day,” Hoober said. “I felt that Taylor adapted and played to the conditions better than we did. We have some quality young athletes that can hit the ball a long ways. Although, as a team we need a lot of work at learning how to handle the bat in general and becoming more complete hitters.”

Freshman Sean Cook helped the Leafs to both scores in the second inning, hitting a sharp single up the middle with two men on base. Cook — playing in place of injured senior Josh Keister — finished 1-3 with a pair of RBI. Senior Chris Kingsley, junior Brad Miller, sophomore Eric Teall and freshman Nate Colclasure all finished 1-3 from the plate as well. Kingsley and Miller scored off of Cook’s second inning hit.

“Freshman Sean Cook has been an outstanding player for us in a variety of ways these last couple of weeks,” Hoober said. “NAIA All-American Josh Keister went down with a season-ending hamstring injury three weeks ago, and at that point we were not sure where we were going to go to replace some of that offensive pop that Josh has always given us in the middle of our order. Sean not only stepped up and swung the bat well for us, but he has really seemed to mature defensively at third. For an athlete such as Sean sometimes it just takes the opportunity to play everyday to realize how good you are. As disappointed as we were with Josh being injured the last part of his senior year, I am pretty confident that we found our third baseman for the future.”

Hoober’s team must now sit and wait to hope the future happens sooner than later. Should Huntington get beat, the Leafs would resume Saturday’s second game at Taylor Thursday afternoon. Game time has yet to be announced. Check back to this website for the most up-to-date information regarding the Leafs’ post-season chances. To keep tabs on Huntington College baseball, click here.

APR. 29 — Split With Taylor Keeps Leafs In Same Place
Huntington splits decision with IWU as MCC race comes down to final games

Top Leaf: Sophomore Eric Teall hurls a strike during his Game 1 win over Taylor on Thursday. Teall leads the Leaf pitching staff with six wins on the year.

Staying allive: Junior Josh Snyder fouls off a pitch during the second game Thursday.

Goshen, IN — With the regular season dwindling away quickly and the Goshen College baseball team sitting on the edge of post-season play, Leaf fans don’t know what to watch more intently — the play of their own team, or that of Huntington College.

Goshen’s split decision with Taylor University on Thursday — a 5-4 win and a 7-10 loss — didn’t help much, as Huntington split a double-header at Indiana Wesleyan University on Thursday as well. With the top three Mid-Central Conference teams advancing to post-season play, Huntington still holds a slight edge on the Leafs for third place honors with a 12-12 league mark. After Thursday’s twin bill with Taylor, Goshen’s record stands at 24-19 overall and 12-14 in MCC play, with just two more regular season games remaining. To advance to NAIA regional action, Goshen will need to either win its last two games (at Taylor on Saturday) or at least one of its last two, while Huntington will need to drop at least three of its final four games (or all four games if Goshen splits on Saturday). The Foresters host Wesleyan on Saturday and travel to Taylor next Tuesday for double-headers. To simplify, Goshen must finish with a better conference mark than Huntington to advance to post-season play, since the Foresters took three out of four from the Leafs this year.

“The MCC sends the top three teams to the regional and we are now in fourth place,” said Goshen head coach Brent Hoober. “From a playing perspective, we’ve got to focus on our games, and our games only. We can’t control what happens somewhere else.”

Even so, Goshen knew very well the importance of its games with Taylor on Thursday and started the day off on a mission. Sophomore Eric Teall (6-2) pitched a complete-game six-hitter, striking out nine Trojan batters and keeping the Taylor offense off kilter throughout. Teall now leads the Goshen staff with six wins on the year, also notching 54 strikeouts in just 48 innings pitched.

“Eric got the job done today,” Hoober said. “It was a windy day and he did a nice job of keeping the ball down in the strike zone.”

The Leafs got strong offensive production from senior Matt Walker, who drilled a solo home run to get things started. Junior Brad Miller went 2-2 with an RBI and a run scored, while freshman Sean Cook knocked in two runs on a double. Junior Erik Hisner finished 1-2, while classmate Josh Snyder knocked in a run.

In the second game, it was Taylor that was able to get its offense going, outhitting the Leafs by an 11 to four count. Senior Jason Booth (4-2) took the loss on the mound, while Hisner finished 1-3 with two RBI. Freshman Nate Colclasure bombed his school-record 19th home run of the year in the bottom of the first inning to tie the game at two, while Cook belted a home run and a double to knock in three runs and score twice himself. Bellmont High School graduates accounted for all of Goshen’s hits and RBI in the second game.

“Brad Miller continues to swing the bat well for us, finding a way on base six times in seven plate appearances today,” Hoober said. “Today he moved up his on base percentage to an impressive .450 on the season. To me, on base percentage is often over looked. Bradley has been an integral part of our offense for the last month and a half because of his quality at bats that usually result in him getting on base one way or another.”

Goshen will look to find its best game Saturday, as the team will travel to Taylor for a 1 p.m. first-game start time. Depending on what Huntington does, the post-season is still in reach for the Leafs. Check back to this website for the most up-to-the-minute information regarding Goshen’s run at the post-season.

APR. 27 — Huntington Puts Move On Goshen
Foresters reclaim third place in MCC with 3-0 and 1-0 wins over Leafs

Freshman Dan Fensler

Huntington, IN — With a post-season berth hanging in the balance Thursday, the Goshen College baseball team made things more difficult on itself, dropping a 3-0 and 1-0 decision to Huntington College. The losses dropped Goshen (23-18, 11-13) below .500 in the Mid-Central Conference, while the Foresters improved to 11-11 with the win. With the top three teams from the MCC advancing to NAIA post-season play — Huntington now controls the final slot with Tuesday’s wins over the Leafs — Goshen head coach Brent Hoober knew his team let a golden opportunity slip through the cracks.

“These were the two biggest games of the year with major playoff implications,” Hoober said. “The fact that we have only two seniors in our starting lineup really hurt us tonight. We currently have a lot of young talent in our program who simply lack experience playing in big games. The positive is that they are young and they’ve got a lot of good baseball ahead of them.”

The Leafs played consistent baseball in Thursday’s first contest, but a Goshen error helped ignite a three-run Forester fifth inning that proved the difference. The Leafs were held to just three hits in the contest (senior Matt Walker, juniors Erik Hisner and Josh Snyder with singles) while sophomore ace Ben Taylor (5-3) took the loss on the mound.

Another defensive and pitching duel followed, as Huntington was able to score the game’s lone run in the ninth inning, ruining an otherwise tremendous pitching performance by freshman Dan Fensler (3-2). Freshman Nate Colclasure finished 2-4 with a double in the second game, while Hisner, senior Chris Kingsley, junior Brad Miller, sophomore Eric Teall and freshmen Sean Cook and Chris Hostetler all provided singles.

Despite the losses, Hoober was very proud of Taylor and Fensler’s efforts on the mound, as Taylor gave up just six hits and no earned runs while Fensler threw eight and two thirds innings of shutout baseball.

“We got excellent starting pitching today,” Hoober said. “To get these types of pitching performances and not win either game is very frustrating. Although, you have to tip your cap to Huntington’s pitchers who held our offense in check better than anyone in the conference has all season long.”

And although down, Goshen’s post-season chances have in no way dissolved completely. The Leafs still have four games left with current fifth-place Taylor University (9-13 in league play), while Huntington has six MCC games to play. Hoober realizes, however, that his team won’t get many more opportunities.

“I felt like one of the biggest keys in both games today was execution in tight situations,” Hoober said. “We made several throwing errors in bunt situations on defense and were unsuccessful in executing our own bunts on offense. In close ball games you have to make sure that you do the little things right. Tonight, Huntington did and we did not.”

Goshen will host Taylor Thursday afternoon for a double-header beginning at 1 p.m. The Leafs will then complete regular-season play at Taylor on Saturday for another double-header. The first game in Upland is scheduled for a 1 p.m. first pitch as well.

APR. 24 — Leafs Pick Up Huge Wins At Marian
Squad rebounds to take a pair of 7-4 decisions and boost post-season chances

Sophomore Eric Teall Junior Brad Miller

Indianapolis, IN — Just a day after squandering leads and dropping a pair of games to Mid-Central Conference foe Marian College, the Goshen College baseball team made sure to finish the deal in Indianapolis by taking a pair of 7-4 decisions from the host Knights. On Saturday, it was Marian that captured early leads in both games, but Goshen rebounded to claim both — almost a mirror image of Marian’s 14-13 and 6-3 wins over the Leafs in Goshen on Friday.

“I was proud of the way we responded after losing both games Friday,” said Brent Hoober, Goshen head coach. “Aside from the fact that we had to make the long trip to Indy, our guys also knew the immense importance of these games.”

Goshen (23-16, 11-11) needed at least one win over Marian to stay in the lead for the final post-season position within the MCC — the top three teams advance to NAIA regional play — while Saturday’s sweep gave the Leafs a two-game lead over fourth-place Huntington College (currently 9-11 in MCC play). And while taking two of four from the second-place Knights was impressive in its own right, Goshen did it without senior All-American Josh Keister, who has been sidelined with a hamstring pull. Keister appeared in just one at-bat in the four-game series with Marian and did not play in the field.

“When you lose a guy like Keister to injury, the immediate question to yourself as a coach is, ‘How are we going to respond?’” Hoober said. “The entire team showed me something today. Taking two from Marian at their home field without your best hitter tells me we’ve got some guys who are willing to do what it takes to pick up the slack and get it done. This is very encouraging to me going into the last week of the season.”

Hoober received a solid pitching performance from sophomore Eric Teall (5-2) in Game 1, allowing just six hits while recording 13 ground ball outs to earn the win. Senior Chris Kingsley finished 3-4 from the plate with an RBI and a run scored. Junior Brad Miller came up with a big solo home run, scoring two runs on the day on a 2-4 performance. Classmate Josh Snyder finished 2-5 with two runs scored, as did freshman Nate Colclasure. Freshman Sean Cook was 1-4 with an RBI, while classmate Chris Hostetler was 2-4 with a run scored. Senior Matt Walker was 1-4 from the plate also.

“Eric Teall gave us another outstanding complete-game pitching performance in the first game,” Hoober said. “Pitching against such a powerful lineup such as Marian you cannot afford to make many mistakes up in the zone. I thought Eric did an excellent job keeping the ball down today.”

Senior Jason Booth (4-1) got the job done on the mound in the day’s second game, although early on Marian looked to be in control with a 3-0 lead. That lasted until the top of the fourth inning, when Goshen exploded for five runs to recapture the lead and the game. Snyder again fared well offensively, going 2-3 with an RBI and a run scored from his leadoff position. Junior Danny Samaritoni was 2-2 with a run scored, while Hostelter was 1-2 with two RBI and a run scored. Colclasure and Miller were each 1-4 with a run scored — Miller also knocked in a run — while junior Erik Hisner, Teall and Cook all finished 1-3 from the plate.

“Chris Hostetler was 3-6 from the plate today and continues to make outstanding plays at shortstop,” Hoober said. “Hoss has been an absolute vacuum at short the last couple of weeks. Chris took over the position after freshman teammate Casey Cavell hyper-extended his elbow back on March 23rd.”

Ironically, Cavell’s injury occurred against Huntington, the team Goshen will face off against Tuesday afternoon. With a post-season berth on the line, Tuesday’s double-header looms large for both clubs. Goshen will travel to the Foresters’ park for a 3:30 p.m. start time Tuesday afternoon.

APR. 23 — Great Effort Can't Yield Win Against Marian
Goshen grabs leads in both games but falls 13-14 and 3-6

Back: Senior Chris Kingsley retreats to first base after a lengthy lead off caused a throw to first by Marian’s pitcher in Game 1 Friday.

Not enough: Despite a solid pitching effort in relief, junior Josh Snyder was saddled with the loss in Friday’s first game against the Knights.

Goshen, IN — With a trip to post-season play on the line, the Goshen College baseball team came up with huge starts to games with Mid-Central Conference power Marian College Friday afternoon.
Unfortunately, Marian’s finishes were even bigger.

Goshen (21-16, 9-11) dropped a pair to the Knights by 13-14 and 3-6 scores after possessing leads in each game, the first loss coming in 10 innings after a see-saw battle despite the fact that the Leafs led by a 9-1 count at one point. With Huntington College and Taylor University both in the mix with Goshen for third place in the MCC — the top three teams advance to NAIA post-season play — Friday’s losses loomed large for Leafs’ head coach Brent Hoober.

“I have to give a lot of credit to Marian and the tenacity they showed today,” Hoober said. “Because of the way the conference standings were coming into today, these were two of the biggest games of the year for both programs for a lot of reasons. Marian is the type of team that expects to win every time they take the field no matter who they are playing. I respect that attitude tremendously. I felt that ‘win at any cost’ mentality was a big reason why they were able to beat us twice today.”

The visiting Knights couldn’t have completely expected to win Friday’s first game after Goshen exploded for nine runs in the second inning, making the score 9-1. As Hoober said, however, Marian slowly battled back. Facing Goshen’s ace in Ben Taylor, Marian converted two runs in the third and came up with a huge sixth inning, scoring five off a single and a home run to take a 12-11 lead. Marian added another run in the top of the seventh inning to take a 13-11 lead — this run coming off of junior Josh Snyder (1-3) who eventually was saddled with the pitching loss — and the momentum was clearly shifted in the Knights’ favor.

Amazingly, Hoober’s bunch came up with a Hollywood-like bottom of the seventh, scoring two runs in dramatic fashion. Senior Josh Keister — out of action with a hamstring pull — was inserted into the lineup by Hoober with a runner on first and one out. Keister came up with a lined rope to right field, and was nearly thrown out at first despite his hit almost making it to the warning track. Junior Brad Miller came up with a big RBI as a pinch hitter, while freshman Nate Colclasure was able to drive in the tying run with a deep fly ball to center field.

With momentum now clearly on Goshen’s side, Hoober elected to ride out Snyder. After two scoreless innings of work, Snyder’s only flaw was a single pitch: Marian was able to belt a solo home run in the top of the 10th over the left field wall, and Goshen couldn’t come up with another storybook comeback.

“We simply got out slugged in Game 1,” Hoober said. “I was proud of our guys for battling back in the bottom of the seventh, although it was a little bittersweet because of the fact that we were up 9-1 with our best pitcher on the mound. We should have not even been in the position of having to battle back.”

Junior Erik Hisner led the Leafs’ charge offensively in the first game, going 3-6 from the plate with a home run, an RBI and two runs scored. Senior Chris Kingsley was 2-6 with a double and two runs scored. Sophomore Eric Teall came up with a three-run homer while senior Matt Walker was 2-6 with a double and two runs scored. Colclasure finished 1-6 with a home run and two RBI.

In the second game, Goshen again found motivation to claim a 2-0 lead through four complete innings, but again Marian responded. A five-run fifth and sixth inning for the Knights was enough offense to overpower Hoober’s team, as freshman Dan Fensler (3-2) suffered the loss on the mound.

Hisner again knocked out a home run, going 2-3 in the second contest. Snyder went 1-3 at the plate, as did Colclasure (two RBI), Kingsley and junior Danny Smaritoni (one run scored). Hisner’s home runs gives him 14 on the year, with a season batting average of .408.

Goshen will travel to Marian Saturday for another double header, with each game having importance on whether or not the Leafs will qualify for post-season action. Game time for the first contest is slated for 1 p.m.

APR. 22 — Victory Field Scrapbook Available Online
Fans can relive Goshen's exciting evening through photographs

Goshen, IN — The Goshen College public relations department has posted a variety of photographs online from Goshen’s baseball game with Anderson University on April 7th. The game was the program’s first to be played at Victory Field, home of the AAA Indianapolis Indians.

“It was a special night, being able to play such good competition in such a beautiful ballbark,” said Goshen head coach Brent Hoober. “We hope to make the trip there an annual event for our program.”

To view photos from that night’s game, click here.

APR. 17 — Goshen Grabs All But One From Indiana Wesleyan
Leafs and Wildcats split 5-3 decisions on Saturday; Keister pulls up gimpy

Opportunity: Junior Josh Snyder leads off of third base as head coach Brent Hoober watches Saturday against Indiana Wesleyan.

Reeling it in: Senior Chris Kingsley nabs a fly ball in Saturday’s second game.

Goshen, IN — On an absolutely gorgeous Saturday afternoon at the Goshen College baseball complex, the Goshen baseball team nearly accomplished a gorgeous feat: The Leafs came up just one game short of a four-game sweep over Indiana Wesleyan University, winning the first of the day’s double header by a 5-3 count while losing the second game by the same score. Goshen defeated the Wildcats by 6-3 and 11-2 scores on Friday, a series that greatly pleased Goshen head coach Brent Hoober.

“We came into this series with a lot of respect for Indiana Wesleyan’s program in general,” Hoober said. “We think they have a quality coaching staff that does things the right way. We also felt that they had one of the more talented pitching staffs in our conference. I am extremely proud of our guys for playing good enough baseball to take three out of four from such a respected and talented program.”

Goshen (21-14, 9-9) began Saturday’s festivities with a strong performance from sophomore Eric Teall (4-2) on the mound, as the right-hander struck out eight Wesleyan batters while giving up just five hits in 6 1/3 innings pitched. Junior Josh Snyder came in to finish the game in the sixth, and had to do so in a dicey situation: With the bases loaded, no one out and a 3-1 lead in hand, Snyder struck out two and forced a grounder to end the inning, keeping the Leafs’ lead in tact and Wesleyan at bay.

“As good as Teall was pitching, I had a feeling it might be effective to show them something different in that situation,” Hoober said. “On a gut decision, I decided to bring in Josh Snyder who changes speeds well and throws a variety of pitches. He came through in a big way and got us out of a tough situation. Coming into the spring we planned on Josh being one of our top starters on the mound, although he makes us so much better of a defensive team when he is at second base. He is the kind of guy that can be very effective coming in from the pen.”

Freshman Nate Colclasure continued his amazing home run string in the fourth inning, sending his 17th blast of the season. Senior Chris Kingsley also knocked in a score going 1-3 from the plate, as did junior Danny Samaritoni. Freshman Sean Cook was 1-1 with a run scored, while senior Josh Keiser was 1-2 with a run scored.

In the second game, a slow start and some costly errors from Goshen helped Wesleyan begin with a 4-0 lead after two full innings of play and the Leafs could never get back on equal ground. Senior Jason Booth (3-1) suffered his first loss of the year in pitching just 1 and 2/3 innings, while Samaritoni and Snyder finished the remainder of the game.

Goshen put together a three-run fifth inning that was halted by a bizarre injury and play at the plate. After junior Erik Hisner drilled a blast to right center field, Keister was stopped at third base as the throw came home. Wesleyan’s catcher then threw to second in an attempt to get Hisner out, and Keister was off to home plate to try and give Goshen its fourth score of the inning. Unfortunately for the Leafs, Keister pulled his right hamstring after rounding third, and was caught hobbling to the plate. Not being able to slide, Keister attempted to take the inside of the baseline past the catcher, and made some contact with the backstop. Ruling that Keister intentionally ran the catcher over, the umpire ejected him. While the call was a questionable one, Keister’s injury makes his playing status questionable for the remainder of the regular season, a player Goshen cannot afford to lose.

“After seeing him on Sunday, I feel much more confident (about his ability to return),” said Bill Kinsey, Goshen athletic trainer. “His range of motion is good, and I think he has a shot to be back within the next two weeks.”

Prior to his injury and ejection, the All-American was 2-2 from the plate with a double. Hisner finished the second game 2-3 with 2 RBI, while Colclasure went 1-3. Cook came up big again, going 2-3 with a run scored and taking third baseman duties following Keister’s departure.

“Sean Cook did an outstanding job coming in off the bench in the first game and as our DH and replacement for Keister in the second,” Hoober said. “Playing behind Keister at third, Sean has not gotten many chances to play in the last couple of weeks. We always harp on our guys to make sure that they keep themselves ready to come into the game even if it is for just one at-bat or for one inning on the hill in a double header. Today Sean answered the call in impressive fashion. When you can bring someone off the bench with that much talent, you know you are getting better as a program.”

Goshen will face off next against Mid-Central Conference second-place holder Marian College Friday afternoon for a 1 p.m. double header. The team will then travel to Marian for another twin bill Saturday. With the top three teams in the MCC advancing to post-season play, this weekend’s matchup is big for Goshen: Huntington College currently possesses an 8-6 mark in conference play, while Taylor University holds a 6-8 mark. With a conference record of 9-9, Goshen still controls its own destiny.

APR. 15 — Leafs Hit Indiana Wesleyan Into Submission
Goshen pounds out 26 hits on afternoon in 6-3, 11-2 victories

Junior Brad Miller Freshman Nate Colclasure

Marion, IN — Generating 26 hits and scoring a plethora of early runs kept host Mid-Central Conference rival Indiana Wesleyan University from having much of a chance Thursday, as Goshen cruised to 6-3 and 11-2 wins to even its MCC record to 8-8. The Leafs (20-13, 8-8) took an early 3-0 lead in the first game and a 7-0 lead in the second contest that kept the Wildcats from getting on even footing, while all parts of the Goshen batting order began to click. The Leafs pounded out 14 hits in the first game and 12 in the second while keeping Wesleyan to just 13 hits on the afternoon, a trait that greatly pleased head coach Brent Hoober.

“We played well in all aspects of the game today,” Hoober said. “Our offense was obviously good, and our pitching and defense gave up only 13 (hits). We made some big plays in the field in big situations to keep our leads in tact.”

Sophomore Ben Taylor (3-1) collected the pitching win in Game 1 while freshman Dan Fensler (3-1) took the Game 2 decision. From the offensive side, freshman Nate Colclasure continued his amazing season, knocking out his 16th home run of the season in the second game while senior Josh Keister belted his eighth in the first contest.

The Leafs got production from junior Erik Hisner at the plate in Game 1, as the powerful hitter went 3-4 with a double. Junior Brad Miller was 3-3 with a double and two runs scored, while senior Chris Kingsley and freshman Chris Hostetler each went 2-4. Colclasure was 2-4 with an RBI, and both Keister and junior Josh Snyder went 1-3. Keister knocked in three RBI with his dinger and scored two runs.

In the second game, the list of offensive highlights was a lengthy one again, led by Colclasure’s three-run blast. Hisner was 2-4 with two RBI, a double and a run scored, while Kingsley went 2-4 as well with a double and a run scored. Sophomore Eric Teall knocked in a run and scored twice, while Snyder blasted a double to knock in three in the second inning to give Goshen a 4-0 lead. Junior Danny Samaritoni went 1-3 from the plate with an RBI and a run scored.

“I have been very encouraged by the way the bottom part of our batting order has been swinging the bats lately,” Hoober said. “Brad Miller and Chris Kingsley are at the point in the season where their timing is right where it needs to be and as a result they are driving the ball with some real authority. Also, Chris Hostetler seems to be finding a way to constantly get on base, whether it be by walks, hit by pitches, bunting or spraying singles all over the place. Any time these guys are getting on base it usually results in a lot of runs being scored because of the talent in the middle of our order.”

Goshen will look to continue this hot play on Saturday, when Wesleyan visits the Leafs’ home field for another double-header. Game time for the first game is set for 1 p.m.