The pitching duo of juniors Alexis Carpenter and Brooke Maes along with the hot bat of Jenna Thompson, a sophomore, helped the Goshen College softball team finish 3-3 in their spring trip to Arizona.

The three wins are the highest win total of any spring break trip in the past five years for the Leafs and places them just three victories shy of their win total from last season.

Both Carpenter and Maes tossed 20 total innings in their time in Arizona with each starting three games and pitching in one relief appearance apiece. Maes finished with a 2-1 record, 10 strikeouts and a 3.73 earned run average (ERA). Despite holding opponents to a .232 batting average and recording a 3.10 ERA, Carpenter received less run support from the offense and finished 1-2 in her outings.

On the offensive side, Thompson caught fire amongst the Arizona sun and totaled 10 hits in 14 tries with a pair of doubles and runs batted in.

Thompson’s performance earned her Crossroads League softball player of the week. Her .714 batting average places her second in the nation amongst players with at least 2.5 plate appearances per game.

Three other Leafs posted a batting average of over .300.

Sydney Stein, a sophomore, homered and recorded three doubles to total seven hits and a .389 average. Candace Sutter, a junior, slapped eight hits and a .364 average from the lead-off position, while Payge Scanlon-Boswood, a first-year, finished with five hits in 14 at bats–a .357 average.

Goshen started off their trip by splitting a pair of games with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (8-11). The Leafs lost the first game 7-3 before bouncing back to take game two 5-2. Goshen used three runs in the third inning to take a 5-1 lead they would never relinquish.

Maes went the distance for Goshen, striking out three and allowing only six hits. She retired the last nine batters she faced.

Thompson went a perfect 3 for 3 from at the plate, while Sandra Rodriguez, a first-year, led the Leafs with two runs scored.

The next four scheduled games were cancelled due to rain before they headed to Tucson, Arizona for the Tucson Invitational. The Leafs dropped their first two games of the invitational, the first of which was to a nationally ranked Madonna University (6-5) team by score of 10-4. Goshen was unable to rebound as they were defeated in the second game 8-1 by Baldwin-Wallace College (2-4).

Following the losses, Goshen allowed only one run in 14 innings to take down both Dakota Wesleyan (6-14) and Lawrence Tech (6-11). Carpenter scattered four hits and struck out a pair in a complete-game, 3-0 shutout to give Goshen its first shutout performance since 2013.

The Leafs finished with nine total hits, with Thompson going 3 for 3, while Scanlon-Boswood added two and Courtney Crasper, a sophomore, drove in all three runs. Goshen then used a four-run fourth inning to take down Dakota Wesleyan 4-1 in their final game of the trip.

Maes pitched the entire contest allowing seven hits and striking out three. Crasper and Krista Sutliff, a senior, drove in two runs apiece for the Maple Leafs.

The Goshen College softball team will not be back in action until Mar. 14, at Bethel College, as their scheduled series this weekend against Cincinnati-Clermont University has been cancelled due to expected temperatures below the freezing mark.