FEB. 16-17 — Leafs Split In Tennessee To Open Season
Goshen shows promise in first efforts outdoors; takes two from Martin Methodist

Pulaski, TN — Goshen head coach Josh Keister may be in his first season at the helm of the Goshen College baseball program, but he is no stranger to college baseball season openers.

That’s why traveling south in February to open the 2006 campaign — though a meteorological necessity at this time of the year — caused the first-year skipper some trepidation.

“When it comes to baseball at this time of the year, southern teams are always a step or two ahead of northern ones,” Keister said before taking his team to Pulaski, Tennessee to face Martin Methodist College in a pair of double headers. “They’ve been outside, they’ve seen live pitching, all while we’ve been indoors trying to simulate as much as we can.”

Given that scenario, Keister must have been pleased with his team’s 2-2 performance against the host RedHawks on Thursday and Friday, especially in the manner that the Leafs maintained the split: After suffering 2-12 and 2-10 losses on Thursday, Goshen (2-2, 0-0) responded with a pair of gutsy wins on day two, winning 6-3 (in nine innings) and 5-3 on Friday before returning to campus.

“I think that was probably the biggest thing that we learned in our two days down there,” Keister said following the jaunt. “Our guys showed a lot of character and mental toughness coming back to sweep a team that beat us by a combined 18 runs the day before.”

Despite sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 60’s on Thursday, it was apparent that Goshen was playing in its first game action of the year, as a total six errors on the day helped push the team to a pair of lopsided losses.

Keister’s squad opened the trip in stellar fashion, however, scoring a pair of runs in the squad’s first at-bat of the season behind junior Brian Shelton’s double and a Mike Staehle (sophomore) sacrifice groundout. That 2-0 lead would hold up until the bottom of the second inning, where Martin Methodist began a hat-trick of four-run stanzas, holding Goshen scoreless the remainder of the way. Freshman Aaron Keister (0-1) suffered the loss on the mound, while senior Greg Koop (a double and run scored) and Shelton (double, RBI) provided the Leafs’ best offense at the plate. Junior Nate Colclasure also ripped a single and scored a run in the first inning.

Following a brief break, the Leafs returned to the field, but again could not put much offense together. A five-error performance in the field put too much pressure on the Leafs’ pitching staff, as senior Dan Fensler (0-1) accepted the pitching loss in a 2-10 defeat. Goshen’s lone offense came from the bats of Koop and Staehle, as each blasted solo homeruns — Koop in the third inning and Staehle in the sixth.

“It was nice to finally get outside and play, but we made a lot of mistakes typical of the first games of the year with a few misplayed fly balls to go along with some more routine errors,” Keister said. “Despite the outcome of the games, getting them under our belt is a valuable experience.”

That experience was evident at the outset of Friday’s double-tilt, as Goshen responded with a come-from-behind, bottom of the ninth, extra-inning 6-3 win in the first game of the day. After taking an early 1-0 lead through four innings, Keister’s squad witnessed Martin Methodist score a run in both the fifth and sixth innings. A one-run seventh equaled the score at 2-2, and Goshen again took the lead following a wacky top of the eighth, only to respond with a three-run ninth to take the game.

“We really thought we had the game won but gave up the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning,” Keister said. “Many teams would have folded after that, but we fought back to force extra innings and then win. It was a great way to get our first victory of the season.”

Shelton (1-0) was credited with the pitching win in a relief effort, taking over for 2005 Mid-Central Conference Player of the Year Ben Taylor (senior) in the eighth inning. Taylor, though saddled with a no-decision, pitched beautifully, striking out eight batters and giving up just two earned runs in seven innings pitched.

After falling behind by a 2-1 score through six full innings, Goshen got a big seventh-inning at the plate. Colclasure started things off with a single to center field, and Shelton followed with a double to left, advancing Colcasure to third. With no outs retired, Staehle blasted a deep fly ball to left field, sacrificing himself but scoring Colclasure, tying the game and sending it to extra innings.

After the teams traded scores in the eighth inning — Goshen’s came on sophomore Nate Montiel scoring on a Koop ground out — it was Keister’s team that came alive in the top of the ninth. Shelton got things going with a single to left field, followed by a double from Staehle. A Kyle Koch (freshman) bunt scored a run, while a single from sophomore Chris Hostetler pushed a run across as well. Sophomore Alex Childers then got into the act, blasting a sacrifice fly to right field in pushing the tally to 6-3. Shelton then closed the game forcing a pair of groundouts to go with a fly out.

Shelton was the main offensive force as well in the win, pounding out three hits — two of which were doubles. Koop blasted out a pair of hits and cranked two RBI, while Staehle, Hostetler and Childers each drove in all-important runs.

In the day’s second contest, it was Goshen that looked like the superior team, taking an early lead on the RedHawks and never looking back. Junior Dann Hunt (1-0) put on an impressive display on the pitching mound, striking out nine while allowing just one earned run in six full innings of work.

Staehle came up big at the plate in the win, churning out three RBI on two hits, a double and a single. Hostetler and freshman Ian Swartz pushed the Leafs’ other two runs across, with Swartz’s RBI coming off a double in the top of the seventh.

“Dann Hunt gave us a dominating performance in Friday’s second game,” Keister said. “We are excited that he has stepped up to give us a great one-two punch after Taylor.”

Goshen will return to the indoor facility before traveling to Indiana Tech on Thursday. A single, nine-inning contest will take place at 12 p.m., weather permitting.