APR. 24 — Goshen Rallies For 8-7 Win At Tri-State
Team continues to roll after MCC Playoff berth assurance; Concordia next up

Angola, IN — Playing in its fifth game in four days and riding the emotion of clinching an MCC Tournament berth following a win over Marian College on Saturday (click here for article), the Goshen College baseball team continued to roll in a non-conference affair Monday, dealing Tri-State University a come-from-behind, 8-7 defeat at TSU’s Jannen Field.

Goshen (14-32, 7-13) fell behind by a 6-2 score after four innings of play, but rallied behind a five-run eighth inning to secure the win.

“It was good to see us play with some persistence today when we easily could have gave in,” said Josh Keister, Goshen head coach. “While this obviously didn’t have any stake in our conference standings, we want to play well every time we step on the field.”

Keister’s team fell behind by a 3-0 score after two full innings of play, as Tri-State tagged freshman, starting pitcher Ian Swartz for four hits and three runs during that stretch. Goshen responded with an impressive top of the third, however, as a double from junior Nate Colclasure scored two (freshman Kyle Koch singled and sophomore Mike Staehle walked to set up the scores).

The host Thunder again responded with another offensive blast in the fourth inning, as Tri-State rattled off three runs from three hits and an error. Keister elected to pull Swartz off the mound following the inning, inserting senior Dan Fensler into the mix.

That move resulted in a trio of scoreless innings for both squads, as Fensler threw two full innings of work before being pulled at the beginning of the seventh inning in favor of freshman Aaron Keister. Keister (4-5), who eventually secured the win on the mound, made just one error in two innings of work, allowing a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning.

That shot was made moot, however, by an incredible Goshen top half of the inning, as the Leafs put together five runs to turn a 2-6 deficit into a 7-6 lead. The majority of that damage was done from Swartz, who rectified a tough afternoon on the pitcher’s mound with a towering, three-run homer in the eighth inning, the first home run of his career. That blast led to a triple from sophomore Alex Childers, who scored on a wild pitch just one batter later. Colclasure added to the mix with a single, while another single from junior Brian Shelton drove him across the plate.

When the smoke cleared, Goshen had scored five runs off of four hits, and looked to be in control of the game. That was until Aaron Keister gave up his lone run in the bottom of the eighth, tying the game at 7-7 heading into the ninth.

Like Saturday’s win over Marian, Goshen responded.
A lead-off single from senior Greg Koop got things going in the top of the ninth, while backing singles from freshman Kyle Shaffer and Swartz moved Koop to third. When Childers drew a wild pitch on his at bat, it scored Koop, giving Goshen an 8-7 lead.

Again, like Saturday, Keister went to senior Ben Taylor in the bottom of the final inning, and the 2005 MCC Player of the Year again produced: Taylor struck out the side in dominating fashion, allowing just a single before getting the Thunder’s final two batters to go down swinging.

It was the second save of the season for Taylor (2) and the second in three days, while Swartz’s 3-5 effort from the plate with three RBI was by far his best performance of the season. Shaffer finished 3-4 from the plate with a run scored, while Childers finished 3-5 with a run scored and an RBI on the wild pitch take. Colclasure doubled in a 2-5 performance at the plate, while Koch finished 1-3 with an RBI and two runs scored.

Goshen will continue its out-of-conference swing on Wednesday, when the team returns to the Goshen College Baseball Complex for a single, nine-inning game against Concordia University. Game time is set for 4 p.m.