The Goshen College baseball team began its season on Friday with a win against Oakland City University.
The game, which they won 8-7, was the team’s first season-opener win since 2016. The second game of the day, which they played at the same facility at the University of Evansville, the team lost 13-2.“It’s always good to start the season off in the win column,” said Alex Childers, head baseball coach, in an interview for a GoLeafs article.
In a follow-up interview, Childers said, “I was pleased with our energy and focus this weekend, but we need that to be a constant throughout the season to be successful.”
Although the Leafs had a successful weekend, the team and coaching staff are focused on what is ahead.
“The first weekend taught us a lot about what we need to focus on and be better at,” said Childers. “It was also good to get out there and just compete. We are young in many spots, so the experience of getting into a collegiate game and learning how to slow the game down was big for us this weekend.”
With a full season ahead of them, the team is grateful for the chance to compete without interruptions.
“Our past two seasons have been interrupted because of the pandemic, so in many ways, our guys have not experienced a typical college baseball season.”
On the positive side, Childers added, “I also think that because we have experienced the abruptness of seasons ending we are taking less for granted. We really have emphasized that we have an incredible opportunity to play this game and we want to enjoy it.”
The team’s first home game will be Friday, March 18 against Marian University.
In the meantime, the women’s softball team is preparing for its season to start over spring break.
“There are so many great things to be excited about this season that it is too hard to pick just one,” said Juliaclare Plezbert, head coach of the women’s softball team. “This team is a joy to be around and I am excited to see how all of their hard work is going to pay off. They are fighters and are hungry to succeed.”
The softball team will kick off its regular season play on Saturday, Feb. 26 in Costa Mesa, California, in a game against Vanguard University. The first home game will be on Tuesday, March 22 against Grace College.
