(Game 1 Stats) (Game 2 Stats) (Game 3 Stats)
Williamsburg, KY — The Goshen College baseball team headed out on its second road swing of the season over the weekend, dropping a triad of games at the University of the Cumberlands on Friday and Saturday. A lack of solid hitting foiled the Leafs’ efforts at the Cumberlands — ranked 23rd in the nation at the NAIA level — as Goshen dropped 2-7, 2-8 and 3-4 decisions.
“We pitched well enough to win all three games this weekend but we must get better offensively,” said Josh Keister, Goshen head coach. “If we can do that, we will have a chance to win a lot of games.”
Goshen (3-10, 0-0) equaled the Patriots in total hits on Friday — both teams tallied 16 — but the timing and placement of those hits equated into an 11-run difference. The Cumberlands raced out to an early 4-0 lead in Friday’s first game, never looking back in the 7-2 win. Sophomore Aaaron Keister (0-3) suffered the loss on the mound, while only freshman Sean Sears recorded multiple hits for the Leafs, going 2-2 with a pair of singles.
In Friday’s second contest, it was the Leafs that captured an early 2-0 lead, shutting Cumberland out through four full innings of play. The Patriots erupted in the fifth inning, however, driving home five runs to spoil what was a solid pitching effort from freshman Aaron Coy (1-1). Coy, who went four and one-third innings, finished with three strikeouts while giving up just six hits — three of which occurred in the fifth inning.
Senior Nate Colclasure and sophomore Kyle Koch led the Leafs’ offensive efforts, with Colclasure belting a double for an RBI and Koch going 2-2 with a run scored.
“Both games on Friday were closer than the final score indicated,” Josh Keister said. “We played dead even with them for 10 or 11 innings but we could never get the big hit and we had at least one bad inning defensively in each game. Both starters Aaron's Keister and Coy threw fairly well.”
Perhaps Goshen’s best chance for a win came in Saturday’s finale, as senior Dann Hunt (1-1) provided a solid, complete-game performance on the mound. After falling behind by a 3-0 score in the bottom of the third inning, Keister’s squad responded with a three-run fourth inning of its own, a top-of-the-lineup blitz that knotted the score at 3-3.
After trading scoreless innings through the seventh, it was Cumberlands that would come up with the hit of the game: With one out retired and a runner on third, Hunt gave up a dribbler down the third-base line. With no play at home, Goshen was forced to make the safe play, allowing the Patriots to bring in the go-ahead run in the most bitter of fashions.
“On Saturday we wasted a great performance from Dann Hunt as we took a 3-3 game into the bottom of the eighth inning before they were able to push a run across,” Keister said. “They had a three-run triple in the third inning which came with two outs on a two strike-pitch just off the outside corner. Those are the kinds of plays you have to make offensively to win close games. We only had two guys who hit the ball consistently all weekend long. We have to become more consistent at the plate.”
Koch was again among the Leafs’ solid performers at the plate, as the outfielder went 1-4 with a run scored. Junior Ian Swartz provided a big, 3-4 effort, driving home a run while scoring as well. Colclasure was responsible for Goshen’s only other RBI of the day, coming off a sacrifice fly in the top of the fourth inning. He finished with a single as well.
A variety of changes involving Goshen’s next contest were rendered moot after a two-inch snowfall (click here for related article). The Leafs will now return to the field for competitive play on Saturday, when the team travels to Indiana University-Southeast for a double-header. Game time for the first of two is set for 1 p.m.
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Sophomore Kyle Koch