APR. 15 — Losses At SAU Don't Hurt Leafs' Playoff Chances
Squads go extra innings again; Grace losses keep Leafs in hunt for post-season

Spring Arbor, MI — On a beautiful Saturday afternoon at Burbridge Field on the campus of Spring Arbor University, the Goshen College baseball team participated in an extra-inning contest for the third time in three games with the host Cougars.

Unfortunately for the Leafs, it resulted in the team’s second loss in those affairs.

Goshen (12-29, 6-12) dropped another heartbreaker in the first of the day’s double-header, falling by a 2-3 score to Spring Arbor in 12 innings before running out of juice in a 0-7 Game Two loss later in the afternoon. The defeats pushed Goshen’s Mid-Central Conference record to 6-12, but did not hinder the team’s current stronghold for the final post-season playoff spot, as Grace College (5-13 MCC) was swept by Bethel College Saturday.

“We are obviously well-matched with Spring Arbor, with the first three games of this series all going extra innings,” said Josh Keister, Goshen head coach. “Unfortunately we lost two of those three. The silver lining on today is that Grace lost twice keeping us with a one-game lead and the tiebreaker for the last playoff spot. If we can get into the conference tournament we can be a very dangerous team.”

Keister’s squad appeared dangerous enough in the early goings Saturday, as fans were not the least bit surprised at the game going extra stanzas. Goshen opened with a one-run first inning off three consecutive bases on balls, eventually scoring on a double-play ground out by junior Brian Shelton. Senior Dan Fensler had some of his best stuff working on the mound, meanwhile, holding the Cougars scoreless through the first five innings of play while allowing just three hits.

Spring Arbor finally cracked the scoring column in the sixth, however, as a lead-off batter was hit by a Shelton pitch followed by a one-out single. When the Cougars’ Eric Vojtkofsky singled it drove in a pair of runs, ending Fensler’s day on the hill and putting Goshen behind by a 2-1 count.

With Shelton coming on in relief, Goshen was able to get out of the sixth inning without further damage, and only needed a few moments to tie the game back up. After sophomore Mike Staehle walked to start the top of the seventh inning and advanced to second on a wild pitch, junior Nate Colclasure ripped a single, scoring Staehle from second and tying the game at 2-2.

After a issuing Shelton a walk, Spring Arbor benefited from what Keister called “a mistake” on the following at-bat. A deep fly ball from senior Ben Taylor pushed Colclasure to third, while Keister wavied him home. A relay throw took Colclasure out at the plate, however, wiping the go-ahead run off the board with two outs. Senior Greg Koop reached base in the following at-bat on an error by the Cougars’ second baseman, leaving Keister with a bad taste in his mouth.

“We probably should have won the first game but I made a poor decision to send a runner to the plate and got him thrown out while the next guy ended up reaching base,” Keister said following the game. “That would have given us the lead.”

Instead, the teams went on to play more and more baseball, exchanging scoreless innings all the way until the bottom of the 12th. Shelton gave up a one-out single to put the go-ahead score aboard, and senior Ben Taylor could not get out of the jam afterward. Taylor’s brief stint on the mound in relief resulted in a single and then a fly out followed by another single which ended the game. For Keister, it was another bitter loss in a season boasting an excess of that category.

“We battled so, so hard and got an incredible performance from Shelton who threw seven innings in relief in getting the tough-luck loss,” Keister said. “Our guys didn’t quit but we just couldn’t come up with the offense late.”

Shelton (2-5) allowed just one run off of just three hits in his time on the hill. He struck out eight batters and walked just one while forcing a total 10 outs in the field. Colclasure knocked in the Leafs’ only accounted run on the day, going 1-5 from the plate with his important seventh-inning single. Freshman Kyle Shaffer continued to show offensive improvements, going 2-3 from the plate while stealing a base. Taylor finished 2-6 from the plate with a stolen base as well, while Staehle and freshman Kyle Koch scored Goshen’s runs.

Following yet another marathon, Keister’s squad wasn’t able to find much more in the tank for the game’s second contest, dropping a 7-0 affair on a three-hit and four-error performance. Freshman Aaron Keister (3-5) suffered the loss on the mound, going five full innings while giving up seven runs, only four of which were earned. Classmate Landon Rorher came on in relief, pitching one full inning and forcing out all three batters faced.

A two-run Spring Arbor first inning turned out to be all the host squad needed for the win, as Goshen’s three runs came in two different innings, keeping base runners at a minimum throughout. The Leafs’ best chance at a scoring surge came in the sixth, when back to back singles from Staehle and Colclasure gave the team a fighting chance. Unfortunately, a strike out and fly out ending the inning, stranding two of Goshen’s six left on base for the game.

Staehle and freshman Ian Swartz each finished 1-2 from the plate, with Swartz stealing a base. Colclasure finished 1-3.

“We just ran out of gas for Game Two as we do not have enough depth to get through that many innings in one day,” Keister said. “We have a lot of tired and sore guys right now but they do get a week off for finals before we get ready for one final push to try and get into the post-season.”

Goshen will take that brief hiatus before traveling to an out-of-conference double header on Friday, when the team will face Aquinas College. Game time for the first of two is set for 1 p.m.