(Game Stats) Goshen, IN — With a stiff wind blowing across the Goshen College Baseball Complex Monday afternoon, Leafs’ sluggers Aaron Coy and Nate Colclasure didn’t seem to notice.
After a pair of homers from the duo — both hit to left field and into Mother Nature’s best efforts — the weather seemed rather calm from the Goshen dugout perspective.
Goshen (11-32, 5-13) used those blasts to register a 10-3 win over Tri-State University, with seven RBI coming from homers alone: Freshman Coy blasted a three-run shot in the fourth inning, while senior Colclasure hit a grand slam in the sixth, helping the Leafs back from an early 2-0 deficit for a non-conference, single, nine-inning game win.
The victory was Goshen’s second consecutive and fifth game played in the last three days, capping an extensive weekend of baseball on the verge of finals week in the classroom. The Leafs now remain idle until Thursday afternoon, where another non-league contest serves as a warm-up before a monster, weekend series with Mid-Central Conference rival Bethel College on Friday and Saturday.
“It’s good to see us get on a little bit of a roll here as we head into finals week with four huge conference games coming up on the weekend,” said Josh Keister, Goshen head coach. “We had two big hits today from Aaron Coy and Nate Colclasure, and we pitched well to top it off.”
Senior Dann Hunt (4-5) registered the win on the mound, starting the contest and going five full innings before retiring. Hunt allowed just two runs off of five hits, but it was the visiting Thunder that struck early. A double steal in the second inning and a deep, sacrifice fly in the third gave Tri-State a score in each inning, putting Goshen behind by a 2-0 count.
That all changed in the fourth, however, where Coy knocked out his second home run of the season with two on base. Freshman Kraig Miller singled to open the inning and classmate Sean Sears followed with a double, setting the stage for Coy’s three-RBI long ball. A throwing error and an RBI single from junior Ian Swartz drove in two more runs, before Kraig Miller struck out swinging to end the stanza with two left on base.
Holding a 5-2 lead, Keister’s squad never looked back. Hunt combined with Ian Swartz to pitch five shut-out innings down the stretch, only allowing Tri-State a lone score in the eighth inning. The Leafs didn’t need quite that much insurance, however, as Colclasure recorded his third homer of the year — and first grand slam — in the bottom of the sixth. Goshen added on one more score in the seventh — off another RBI single from Ian Swartz — hitting the 10-run mark for the third time in 43 total games this season.
Goshen kept things from getting even remotely interesting thanks in large part to a stellar finish to the defensive half of the eighth inning, where Tri-State loaded the bases with just one out. After walking two of the three base runners, Ian Swartz forced Tri-State’s Adam Bowden to ground into a double play, ending the threat permanently.
Coy and Colclasure led the Leafs’ offensive efforts, going 1-5 and 2-5, respectively. Ian Swartz finished 3-4 with a pair of doubles and two RBI, while Sears doubled and scored a run in a 1-3 performance at the plate. Kraig Miller finished 1-5 with a run scored, while junior Darren Tronovich posted a 1-3 effort with two runs scored.
UPDATE, 4/26/07: Due to heavy thunderstorms in the Goshen area, Thursday’s single, nine-inning game with Kalamazoo College — a late addition to the schedule — was cancelled. The game is not slated to be made up. Goshen’s next contests are now slated for Friday, when the squad will travel to MCC rival Bethel College for a double-header beginning at 1 p.m. The Pilots will then return the favor on Saturday, arriving at the Goshen College Baseball Complex for a 1 p.m. double-header.
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Senior Nate Colclasure