APR. 21 — Finals Leave Goshen Flat Against Aquinas
Squad returns to field after week layoff; comes up sluggish on road in losses

Grand Rapids, MI — After taking a week away from the field to focus on second-semester final examinations, the Goshen College baseball team returned to action Friday in a double-header against Aquinas College.

It appeared that the Leafs were still in academia mode.

Goshen (12-31, 6-12) could not place much resistance to the host Saints, dropping 0-10 and 1-2 decisions — the latter being a one-hitter for the Leafs — in the squad’s first games back after the completion of finals week. Things started off slowly and picked up only slightly as the day wore on, giving head coach Josh Keister a reason to be thankful that a non-Mid-Central Conference opponent was on the slate at the tail end of examinations.

“We came out quite rusty the day after finals ended,” Keister said. “Hopefully we can get the kinks worked out enough to rebound in our next, very important MCC games (against Marian on Saturday).”

Those kinks were palpable in Friday’s first contest, as Aquinas raced off to six runs in the first two innings while holding Goshen to just two hits in the same time frame. Senior Dan Fensler (1-7) took the loss on the mound, while the Leafs could generate just six hits for the game, stranding all nine of their base runners in the process.

Junior Nate Colclasure was the only Leaf to register more than one hit, going 2-3 from the plate. Senior Greg Koop and freshmen Kyle Koch, Kyle Shaffer and Ian Swartz all provided a single each.

The day’s second contest was further disappointment for Keister’s squad, as a brilliant pitching performance by freshman Aaron Keister (3-6) was overshadowed by a dominant pitching effort by Aquinas’ staff. Goshen could only muster one hit in the contest — again from the bat of Colclasure — as Keister’s complete-game, six-hit, three-strikeout effort was wasted.

A pitching duel from the outset, Goshen claimed the late 1-0 lead in the top of the sixth inning off of, ironically, no hits. The Leafs took advantage of a walk, a balk and a double-steal to bring in its lone run of the game. The advantage was short-lived, however, as Aaron Keister gave up three of his day-total six hits in the bottom of the inning, allowing the Saints to bring in a pair of runs thanks to a lead-off double followed by a single and another double.

Colclasure was the lone offensive producer in the second game, going 1-2 from the plate with a run scored. Sophomore Alex Childers’ steal of second base led to Colclasure’s score in the sixth. Goshen stranded six runners on base. Aquinas left just two.

Goshen will next return to MCC play tomorrow, when Marian College visits the Goshen College Baseball Complex for a key showdown with vital playoff implications. Game time for the first of two is set for 1 p.m.