Box Scores: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4
GOSHEN, Ind. and HUNTINGTON, Ind. – It has been a rough start to the Mid-Central Conference campaign for the Goshen College baseball team. Looking for its first win in conference play, the Maple Leafs played well at times, but lacked the final punch as they were swept by second-place Huntington University.
In the series opener on Thursday, Goshen received a solid outing from sophomore Shane Kurtz. The right-hander went six innings, giving up just two earned runs and striking out five.
But as has been the case often early to start the MCC season, the Maple Leafs could not string together enough hits as they fell 4-0. Three of those hits came off the bat of freshman third baseman Zach Reed. Reed – despite a team batting average of just .196 in the MCC – has caught fire recently and is batting a team-high .381 in eight conference games.
With three runs in the second and four more in the third, Huntington ran away with the nightcap in Goshen 9-3. Again the Leafs struggled at the plate as they managed just three hits, including a pair from senior Tom McDowell.
Goshen would score twice in the bottom of the second as Reed singled and advanced to third before a Darren Tronovich sacrifice fly scored him. McDowell would follow with a two-out blast, his second of the year.
The Maple Leaf offense showed signs of life as the series shifted to Huntington. In game three of the series, Goshen led off the second and third innings with homers as Tronovich hit his first of the year in the second and Ian Swartz knocked his second in the next inning.
This time it was the pitching that struggled to contain the Forrester offense as Huntington banged out 14 hits in a 10-5 win.
The series finale was much of the same as Huntington took the sweep after tallying 14 more hits in a 15-5 decision. Swartz, Tronovich and Reed picked up two hits a piece for Goshen.
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Freshman Zach Reed