MAR. 23 — Goshen Close, But Not Close Enough At Bethel
Leafs drop another pair of heartbreakers on road, 3-6 and 4-5 to Pilots

Mishawaka, IN — First-year Goshen head coach Josh Keister knew that there was a good probability he would experience a gut-wrenching loss or two in his first season as the program’s skipper.

What he couldn’t have expected was so many, so soon.

Goshen (6-16, 2-5) dropped its fifth and sixth consecutive Mid-Central Conference affairs Thursday afternoon at Bethel College, coming in the form of 3-6 and 4-5 losses. The latter marked the fourth one-run defeat in the Leafs’ last six contests, including the second that ended with a Goshen game-tying run being thrown out at home plate.

“It’s obviously not a good thing that we’re in a six-game losing streak and all have been conference games,” Keister said. “Every game during this stretch has been close with today’s 3-6 score being the worst. I know we are a good team because a bad team would not be in so many close games. We just need to find a way to win.”

It appeared that Keister’s team would do just that at the outset of the day’s competitions, as on and off flurries at Jenkins Stadium did not deter Goshen from taking a 2-0 lead after its half of the opening inning. Senior Ben Taylor smacked a double that drove in junior Nate Colclasure and sophomore pinch-runner Nate Montiel, and the Leafs had things working.

Junior Dann Hunt (2-4) also had things working on the mound, striking out two of Bethel’s first seven batters in keeping the Pilots to just one hit through two full innings of work. That all changed in the third, however, as the hosts began to put together a dominant series at the plate. A leadoff single ignited a five-run inning for the Pilots — four earned — putting Goshen behind the proverbial eight ball yet again.

And while the Leafs were able to generate a run in the fifth, Bethel responded in kind in its half of the inning, cruising to the 6-3 win.

Taylor did his best to keep the Leafs in the game offensively, going 4-4 from the plate with Goshen’s only two RBI’s of the game. Colclasure and Staehle each registered 1-4 performances, with Colclasure scoring a run. Goshen left nine runners on base in the loss, and committed a season-high five errors.

Looking to rebound, Goshen again got off to a hot start to open play in the day’s second contest. A solo home run from freshman Kyle Koch in the second inning paced the Leafs first, while a three-run third put Bethel in a 4-0 hole. Timely hitting put Goshen in the driver’s seat — a double from Staehle and a single from Colclasure drove in the three scores — while Bethel was reeling.

That reeling may have very well continued over the next two innings had it not been for a trio of Goshen errors in the bottom of the fourth, allowing Bethel three unearned runs to get right back in the mix. A Pilot triple in the fifth inning drove in a run to give Bethel a 5-4 lead, and again Keister’s team found itself in the midst of another close call.

Things would get even closer.

After trading scoreless stanzas in the sixth inning, Goshen mounted its final push in the top of the seventh looking for a tie or a lead. Sophomore Chris Hostetler did his part by opening with a leadoff single, but sophomore Alex Childers grounded into an ill-timed double play to wipe out Goshen’s scoring chances.
Still, the Leafs persisted. Down to its last out, Montiel ripped a single. Another double from Staehle pushed Montiel to third, and Keister waved the speedster home to tie the game.

As the Pilot’s leftfielder relayed the throw into the shortstop, it was clear there would be another close call at the plate.

After the dust settled, Montiel was called out.

“It doesn’t get much closer than that, and we’ve twice had game-tying runs thrown out at the plate to end things,” Keister said. “We just keep making small mistakes in all aspects of the game that turn huge by the final out.”

Montiel led the offensive push for Goshen in Game Two, going 3-4 from the plate with a run scored. Staehle again was stellar, belting two doubles and driving in a run in a 2-3 effort. Colclasure finished 1-3 with two RBI, while Koch’s homer gave him a 1-3 batting performance. Hostetler was also impressive offensively, going 2-3 from the plate while scoring a run.

Freshman Aaaron Keister (1-2) was saddled with the loss on the mound, pitching four innings though only two of the Pilots’ five runs were earned. Keister struck out two and walked just one.

The Leafs will not have long to agonize over their recent close calls, as Bethel will visit the Goshen College Baseball Complex on Saturday afternoon for another MCC double header. Game time for the first of two is set for 1 p.m.