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APR.
28 — Goshen Picks Up Second MCC Win Of Season
Leafs'
late-game herorics fall just short in Game One but prove
enough in second |
Goshen, IN — Apparently, the
Goshen College softball team wanted to spice up a cold, dreary
April afternoon with a bit of excitement. Facing Mid-Central Conference
foe Taylor University in a double-header that bore extreme importance
in the Leafs’ run for the post-season, the team waited until
the
last moments
of each game to make their moves at the Goshen College Softball
Complex on Thursday.
Unfortunately, Goshen (4-21, 2-14) came up just short in the first
contest, losing by a 2-1 score. The team came back to win the day’s
second game by a 6-5 count, after scoring three runs in the bottom
of the sixth inning to grab the slim lead.
“It was a pretty intense day of softball,” said Marc
Green, Goshen head coach. “We were able to scrap and hang
around all day. We would have liked to get two, but we just couldn’t
get another run across in the first game. We’re still improving
each game we step on the field.”
The one-run loss against the Trojans in Thursday’s Game One
marked the 14th time this season that the Leafs had lost a game
by three runs or less. Senior Rachel Solmos (3-10) limited Taylor
to just five hits on the afternoon, but a pair of Goshen errors
and a spaced-out offensive attack (seven Leaf hits resulted in
just a single run) kept Green’s team from getting the win.
Goshen waited until the bottom of the seventh inning to start moving
runners, as Taylor’s 2-0 lead was halted when freshman Brandie
Dalton drilled a single that brought in a run. The Leafs could
not bring the tying run across the plate, however, and fell just
short of a dramatic comeback.
Dalton led the team’s offensive efforts, going 2-3 while
knocking in the Leafs’ lone RBI. Solmos was 2-3 from the
plate, as was freshman Faith Borrell.
It was again Taylor that got off to a hot start in Game Two, scoring
three runs in the top of the second inning before Goshen could
get moving. The Leafs responded with perhaps its best three consecutive
innings of play this season, generating all six runs over the fourth,
fifth and sixth innings. Perhaps most impressive was Goshen’s
three-run sixth inning, coming in a circumstance that looked eerily
familiar
to Game One: Goshen trailed by a 5-3 count coming into that stanza.
“I think our girls are really beginning to get more confidence
at the plate, especially in tough game situations,” Green
said. “That’s
something that only comes from game experience, and we’ve
been in quite a few close ones this year.”
Senior Tara Haynes drove in three runs for Goshen, finishing with
a 2-4 effort in the win. Freshman Erica Weaver had a huge day at
the plate as well, going 3-4 with a double. Classmate Tera Brackman
(1-7) got her first win in the pitching circle on the season, throwing
a complete game. She also drove in a run.
Goshen will take a brief break from MCC competition this Saturday,
when Kalamazoo College will visit the complex at 1 p.m. Goshen
will honor its seniors between games of the double-header, as it
will be the final regular-season home contests of the year. Following
Saturday’s tilt with the Hornets, however, things will begin
to get very heated at the Goshen Softball Complex. After Thursday’s
split with Taylor, Goshen possesses identical 2-14 MCC records
with Huntington College. As a result of the Leafs and Foresters
tying for the final slot in the nine-team conference — only
eight teams qualify for MCC post-season play — Goshen and
Huntington will face off in an MCC Tournament play-in game this
Monday for the right to enter the post-season tournament as the
leagues’ eighth-seeded team. Through the conference’s
tie-breaking procedures, Goshen has earned home-field advantage
for that play in game. The Leafs will host the Foresters in a single,
seven-inning contest on Monday at 3 p.m. The MCC Tournament begins
on Wednesday. Indiana Wesleyan University will host that event.
For a complete look at MCC standings and records, click here.
|
Game 1 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
R |
H |
E |
|
Taylor |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
0 |
|
Goshen |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
2 |
|
Game 2 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
R |
H |
E |
|
Taylor |
0 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
10 |
4 |
|
Goshen |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
- |
6 |
8 |
2 |
|
  Freshman
Erica Weaver
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