MOUNT VERNON, Ohio — The Goshen College softball team finished the long trek to Mount Vernon Nazarene University to no avail as the Leafs dropped both games of the doubleheader by scores of 4-1 and 8-0.

Pitcher Alexis Carpenter, a senior, showcased her talents on the mound once again as the team’s ace by going the distance for the Leafs. Carpenter allowed eight hits, four runs (two earned) and one walk while striking out a pair. The loss sends the Michigan native to 5-4 on the season with a team-best 3.67 earned run average.

The Leafs (9-18, 1-7 Crossroads League) did not find the scoreboard in the six-inning affair until the final frame as a leadoff double by Rianna Koteles, a first-year, allowed Katherine Boyer, a sophomore, to advance Koteles to third on a groundout to the right side of the infield before Sandra Rodriguez, a sophomore, registered her second hit of the day to score Koteles. The Leafs registered a total of six hits in the contest led by Rodriguez. Boyer and the Koteles singles added to the mark while Taylor Sutliff, a junior, and Allison White, a first-year, each added one single.

The team’s offensive struggles carried over to the second game of the afternoon as the Leafs only mustered one hit and two base runners through six innings of play. Boyer was the lone Leaf to find a hole in the infield with a single, while Koteles was the only other Leaf to reach base via a MVNU fielding error in the first inning. The Cougars’ offense took the opposite approach, as they were able to rattle off 13 hits. MVNU tallied four doubles and two triples while reaching basing by way of a walk only once.

Goshen will look to rebound at some point throughout their astronomical eight-game week that continues with a doubleheader against Bethel College on Tuesday (game completed after print deadline). Following the rivalry matchup, the Maple Leafs will remain at home to square off with Marian University in a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. on Friday before wrapping up their week with another twinbill at Spring Arbor University on Saturday. That game is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.