CHANDLER, Ariz. — Spring break was not all Netflix and naps for the Goshen College softball team as they travelled to various parts of Arizona to play nine games, matching the program’s record for spring break wins with five.
One of the Leaf’s five wins came in their final stint in Chandler against Benedictine-Mesa University.The victory came in the front-end of the twin bill, claiming a 5-4 win behind the arm of ace Alexis Carpenter, a senior.
Carpenter tossed the complete, seven-inning affair allowing seven hits and four runs, two of which were earned. The Central Lake, Michigan native also struck out two while walking only a pair of the 29 batters she faced.
Designated hitter, standout Rianna Koteles, a first-year, drove in two runs by way of a double in the third-inning to commence scoring on the sunny afternoon for the Leafs (8-11).
The double marked the first of her two hits in the contest. Minutes later Leah Hermann, a first-year, scorched a single to score Koteles to notch Goshen an early 3-0 advantage.
Herman, too, slashed a pair of hits as she added a single later in the contest.
California natives Katherine Boyer, a sophomore, and Taylor Sutliff, a junior, also added RBI’s for the Leafs to round out the teams scoring.
Lead-off batter Candace Sutter, a senior, joined Koteles and Hermann to lead the team with a pair of hits while a handful of others contributed to finish the victory with 12 team hits.
Game two did not garner similar results for Goshen as the Redhawks rushed out to a quick 4-0 advantage, scoring four in the first off of Leaf’s pitcher, Hermann.
Herman was then relieved by Brooke Maes, a senior, who allowed two runs through four innings of work before handing the ball of to Carpenter for an inning.
The early hole was seemingly too much for Goshen to overcome despite a two-run home run by Boyer late in the game and a three-hit, two RBI performance by Maes.
The Leafs dropped the matchup 9-4 to head home with an overall record of 5-4 in Arizona.
Goshen was slated to begin Crossroads League conference play this past Tuesday, but the game was postponed due to freezing temperatures.
The ladies will now open their CL endeavors this coming Saturday in a home double-header against Huntington University. First pitch for the twin bill is slated to begin at 1 p.m.