The Goshen College baseball team took on Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights, Illinois on Saturday, coming away with a split in the doubleheader.

The day’s first game saw the teams combine to score 22 runs as the Maple Leafs held off the Trolls 12-10. Trinity evened the score in the second game, coming away with a slim 3-2 victory.

Trinity got the day off to a fast start, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first inning. Goshen responded offensively by scoring a combined 11 runs in the third and fourth innings. Not to be outdone, Trinity fired back with six runs across the fourth and fifth to cut Goshen’s lead to 11-10.

In the top of the seventh inning, Goshen tacked on an insurance run to push their lead to 12-10 and Kyle Kotecki, a first year pitcher, closed the door on the Trolls in the bottom of the seventh to give Goshen the “W.”

Leading the charge on offense was Jesse Quintanilla, senior, who collected a team-leading three RBIs (runs batted in). Brad Stoltzfus, sophomore, Ryan Hartig, sophomore, and Clinton Stroble II, first year, each contributed two RBIs, and juniors Vincent Caschera, and Preston Carr added an RBI apiece.

The day’s second game saw the offenses quiet down and pitching dominate the game. Goshen scored first when Caschera’s fourth inning single scored Quintanilla. Trinity’s Tyler Sroczynski got the Trolls on the board in the fifth when he tripled home a run. Sroczynski wasn’t finished as he then gave Trinity its first lead of the game by pulling off one of the most difficult plays in sports and stole home.

Goshen fought back in the top of the sixth when Connor Clemens, first year, singled home Quintanilla to knot the game up at two. The game headed into the bottom of the seventh inning deadlocked and the Maple Leafs were an out away from extra innings but another RBI triple by Trinity, this time scoring Sroczynski, earned the Trolls the victory as well as a split of the doubleheader.

Caschera and Clemens had an RBI apiece and Quintanilla scored twice on offense for Goshen. Blake Collins, a junior pitcher, turned in an impressive start for Goshen, going the distance and surrendering three runs on five hits. Both teams left a total of seven runners on base in the pitchers’ duel.

With the split of the doubleheader, Goshen’s record on the season is 4-9 as of Tuesday night. The Maple Leafs played another doubleheader on Wednesday, this time against Lourdes University in Toledo, Ohio. Goshen will be in action again on Saturday against Oakland City University in Oakland City, Indiana. The Leafs’ first home game will be a week later on the 19th when they host the visiting Beavers of Bluffton University.