(Game 1 Stats) (Game 2 Stats) Goshen, IN — Early on Monday afternoon, the Goshen College softball program’s seeding in the upcoming Mid-Central Conference Tournament was the last thing on Leafs’ head coach Linda Bontrager’s mind.
Ominous clouds in the distance sparked lightning, and Bontrager let out an audible sigh.
After having to postpone a MCC date with Taylor University twice, it was now or never for the Leafs and the Trojans to do business.
“The deadline for completing conference (regular-season) games was today, so I think we all were a little apprehensive when those dark clouds rolled in,” Bontrager said. “Fortunately, they passed right over us and we were able to play under sunny skies for the rest of the afternoon.”
With the strangely tedious task of actually completing the games accomplished, Goshen (6-21, 3-13) could not produce the results it wanted, dropping 0-2 and 2-7 decisions at the Goshen College Softball Complex. The losses completed the Leafs’ regular-season and solidified the team’s position as the league’s eighth-seeded team for the upcoming MCC Tournament, as a sweep over Taylor would have pushed Goshen into the seventh-place slot.
“We knew that our seeding in the tournament would be affected by today’s games, but we just couldn’t get the bats to work again,” Bontrager said. “We fought extremely hard and kept the errors even with Taylor, but we just couldn’t get the scores when we needed them.”
Accumulating hits was an equally difficult task in Monday’s first contest, as Taylor’s Jessica Fankhauser limited Goshen to a one-hit performance, muting what was a brilliant effort from starting Goshen pitcher Haly Williamson (sophomore). Williamson (3-6) went the distance in the circle, allowing just two runs off of five hits, but a lack of run support kept that performance in check: Only freshman Heather FitzSimmons was able to reach base via a hit — a single coming in the bottom of the seventh inning — as Williamson was the Leafs’ only other base runner on the game, reaching on a walk in the second.
“When we have struggled this year, more often than not it has been due to a lack of offense,” Bontrager said. “Effort has rarely been the problem. Gettting our bats to wake up on time has been.”
Bontrager’s team got some offense working in the second contest, but it was simply too late. Perhaps fatigued by a total 14 innings of pitching work, Williamson finally let Taylor break through in the third inning, as the visitors notched five runs to initiate the scoring.
Goshen responded with two runs in the bottom of the fifth, as sophomore Amy Clem doubled to drive in Deanne Binde, who reached on an error. Clem’s shot to left field was followed by a ground out from FitzSimmons, which drove in Clem.
The Leafs would end the inning with the bases loaded, however, as freshmen Maureen Gill and Kathryn Schlabach struck out and grounded out, respectively, to end the stanza.
Taylor had already tacked on an additional two runs in the fourth inning, making Goshen’s fifth inning far less than what was necessary to pull back into the mix. And while Williamson regrouped to finish with three shut out innings of work — she allowed seven total runs off of nine hits while striking out four — Goshen could only get two runners on base in the final two stanzas.
Freshman Diana Stanley finished 2-4 from the plate in Game 2, singling twice. Clem’s double was the only extra-base hit of the game, as Clem finished 1-3 with an RBI and a run scored. FitzSimmons also finished with an RBI, while Williamson finished 1-3.
“We were better offensively in the second game, and that has been the trend all season,” Bontrager said. “Even with today’s losses, I feel the girls are excited about the tournament and what we could possibly do there. We’re hoping to play our best softball of the year this week.”
Goshen will begin MCC Tournament competition on Wednesday, as the team will face number-one seeded Bethel College at 10 a.m. on the campus of Indiana Wesleyan University. A double-elimination tournament, Goshen’s second game and time will depend on the outcome of that first contest. A loss would pit the Leafs in the loser’s bracket — the first game is at 4 p.m. — while a win would allow the team to face the winner of the number-four vs. number-five seed contest in a 2 p.m. game.
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Freshman Diana Stanley