The Goshen College baseball team hosted conference opponent Taylor University for an afternoon doubleheader on Tuesday, with the Leafs falling 13-2 and 6-5 to the Trojans
The day’s opening contest saw Taylor jump out to a commanding lead as the Trojans scored 13 straight runs before Goshen was able to crack the scoreboard with a run in the sixth inning and a run in the seventh. By that point Taylor had put the game away with a five-run top of the sixth and went on to win 13-2.Colby Malson, a first-year, got the start in game one and went nearly three innings before Anthony Todaro, a first-year, James Stricker, a sophomore, and Brandon Vires, a junior, all pitched in relief.
Ryan Hartig, a junior, collected the Leafs’ only RBI in the contest as Brad Stoltzfus, a junior, and Kody McGuire, a first-year, each scored one of the team’s two runs. Seven different Leafs collected one of Goshen’s seven hits in the loss, which saw the Leafs commit a trio of errors.
In game two, Taylor rattled off a string of unanswered runs before Goshen scored in the third to cut the Trojans lead to 4-1.
Taylor would add a pair of insurance runs in the top of the fourth to stretch their advantage to 6-1 before the Leafs would mount a late charge scoring a pair of runs in the fifth and two more in the bottom of the ninth to bring Goshen within a run. But that was as close as the Leafs would get as Taylor held on for a 6-5 victory.
Travis Grimm, a junior, was the Leafs’ starter for game two and went three innings before turning it over to Brad Lantz, a senior, Kyle Kotecki, a sophomore, Chandler Ingle, a sophomore, Colton Daniel, a first-year, Blake Collins, a senior, and Spenser Triplett, a first-year.
Clinton Stroble II led the offense with three RBIs and a run scored, with Hartig and Quinlan Armstrong, a first-year, both driving in a run. Stoltzfus led the team with three runs scored.
With the losses, Goshen’s record falls to 19-19-1, 8-9 Crossroads League, on the season. The Leafs will be back in action on Thursday when they travel to Indiana Wesleyan University. First pitch on Thursday is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.