Mishawaka, IN — Just two days after dropping a pair of games on their home field to defending MCC champions Bethel College, the Leafs traveled to Mishawaka to face the Pilots again.

After a shaky start which saw the Leafs down 0-2 after the first inning it looked as though the Pilots would pick up where they left off in Game Two of Thursday’s double-header when they were able to cross the plate 17 times. However, solid defense by the Leafs kept the Pilot offense at bay for the remainder of Game One. “I thought in the first game we came out about the same way we did in Game Two Thursday and that was not ready to compete with a strong conference opponent,” head Coach Jayson Best said. “Junior Ben Taylor was able to settle down on the mound and keep them at only two runs while our bats came alive at opportune times in the late going.”

Goshen was finally able to get their bats going in the fifth inning, scoring one run. They added three more in the sixth inning, highlighted by Sophomore Brian Shelton’s two-run home run. “Shelton had some bad swings in his early at bats,” Best said. “He made a nice adjustment to how they were pitching him and had a big opposite field homer.”

Goshen was led in Game one by Taylor and senior Erik Hisner, both going 2-3. Shelton was 1-3 with two RBI’s and a run scored. Senior Brad Miller was able to collect a double going 1-4.

In Game Two senior Josh Snyder had another solid effort on the mound. “He pitched well enough to win most games, but in the end it wasn’t good enough,” Best said. “Even the pitch that turned out to be the game winner was not that bad of a pitch.”

Senior Erik Hisner and sophomore Nate Colclasure came up big in the seventh inning. Being down 2-5 going in to the final inning Hisner was able to come up with a three run home run with two outs to tie the game at five runs apiece. Next up, Colclasure put the Leafs in the lead with a solo homer.

“Hisner and Colclasure came up with two of the biggest clutch hits I’ve seen in my time here,” said Best. “This was easily one of the most dramatic games between these two teams in quite some time.”

With the Leafs leading 6-5 going in to the bottom of the seventh inning Bethel’s Javier Guevara reached base on a single. The next batter up, Pilot’s Joe Hannon, was able to end the day with a walk-off homer making the score 6-7, Bethel. “Guevara is one of the top hitters in the conference and when we held him to a single to lead off the seventh inning I felt we had a shot to leave him there,” Best said. “Hannon hit a good pitch out to do to us what we thought we had done to them.”

Senior Erik Hisner was honored for his outstanding play in the past week. He was named the Mid Central Conference and Region VIII player of the week. Hisner hit .500 with a .929 slugging percentage for the Maple Leafs. He had two home runs and had four RBI’s. He finished the week going 7-14, scoring 5 runs.

"Erik has had an outstanding career here,” said Best. “This is a deserving award for him since he consistently puts up these types of numbers week in and week out.”

The Leafs next contest will be Thursday when they travel to Grace College for a makeup game. Game One is set to begin at 1 p.m.