Goshen, IN — After Saturday’s double-header with Taylor University was pushed back to Monday due to rain, the Leafs and the Trojans hooked up for a pair of nip and tuck contests. And though Goshen was unable to hang on to a 3-0 lead in the first game (and lost by a 5-6 score), the Leafs returned the favor in Game 2, coming back to grab a 4-3 win and remain two games above the .500 mark in the ever-tough Mid-Central Conference.

“We lost a tough one in Game One but battled back well in Game Two,” said Jayson Best, Goshen head coach. “Sometimes that’s the way the game plays out. We would have liked to get two today, but we obviously came up a little short.”

It was Goshen (4-4, 3-1) that set the tone to the day’s events early on, as junior Erik Hisner blasted a three-run homer in the bottom of the first inning to give his team a 3-0 lead in Game One. Taylor responded with a two-run second inning, and then was able to keep Goshen scoreless for two stanzas. A four-run explosion in the top of the fourth inning gave the Trojans a 6-3 advantage, and it was the Leafs that were forced to play catch-up. Despite pushing a run across the plate in both the fourth and seventh innings, the Leafs could not get the equalizer. After belting out 15 hits to Goshen’s six, Taylor got out of trouble in the bottom of the seventh to escape with the win.

Junior Dan Fensler (1-1) took his first loss of the season on the mound, giving up 13 hits in 4 1/3 innings of work. Classmate Greg Koop came in for relief and allowed two hits and no runs to score in the remaining 2 2/3 innings of play, but the Leafs couldn’t get quite enough production at the plate. After Hisner’s blast, the Leafs were led by Koop’s 2-4 effort at the plate.

The second game offered almost a mirror image of the first, as it was Taylor that jumped out to a 2-1 advantage just an inning and a half into play. Coming off such a heartbreaking loss just minutes earlier, Goshen refused to panic. A run scored in the bottom of the third and then a big two-run effort in the bottom of the sixth was enough to hold off a scrappy Trojan bunch, as this time it was the Leafs who out hit Taylor — by a 12 to four count — in narrowly getting by.

Hisner was outstanding on offense for the entire day, capping off his huge Game One home run with another blast — this time a solo effort — in the second game en route to a 4-4 effort from the plate. Sophomore Nate Colclasure was 2-3 with a two-run homer, while Koop again finished 2-4 in batting. Sophomore Casey Cavell was 2-3 from the plate.

Senior Danny Samaritoni (1-0) picked up the win on the mound, striking out four while allowing just three hits. Junior Ben Taylor picked up the save (1) in relief, pitching two innings while giving up just one hit and no runs scored. He struck out six batters.

“Samaritoni has now thrown the ball both times out this year and Taylor was dominating in a closer’s role,” Best said. “Hisner and Colclasure combined for three home runs on the day, but we still need better execution at the plate overall. Greg Koop has given us a nice spark so far this year, as he collected four hits on the day. We’ll need others to step up as well as we continue conference play.”

Goshen will next host MCC rival Bethel College on Thursday, with the first of two games scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. at the Goshen College Baseball Complex.