The Goshen College softball team kicked off their season at the Space Coast Games in Florida over break, ending with four wins and six losses.
Audrey White, junior exercise science and physical education major, said, “It was not our best outing, but overall, I think it was good to see where we were at.” White is in her first year with the team since transferring from Mount San Antonio Junior College in California. “We all came out and were excited to be there.”Luke Wagner, the head coach, said, “The early season is super unpredictable … Everybody is getting out there for their first opportunities to play together in something that’s meaningful.”
The team was supposed to have a set of two home games on Feb. 14, but they were canceled due to weather. Wagner said, “We were hoping that that would be an opportunity for us to kind of get stress-tested before we went to Florida, so that if there were some areas where we needed to focus more attention, we would find out prior to hitting the turf down in Florida.”
Camryn Barrows, a junior exercise science and biology major, said that Florida was “a lot nicer than it is here. You can actually feel your fingers. That is always a plus.”
Wagner said he was wishing for more than just nice weather. “I was hoping for probably a little bit more of the on-field success to translate into maybe a few more wins,” he said.
Barrows, one of the team’s main pitchers, was a contributor to the Leaf’s on-field success. She threw 15 strikeouts in the Maple Leafs’ first matchup against the University of Fort Lauderdale, where they won 4-0. After the first 10 games, Barrows remains the only NAIA player averaging at least 12 strikeouts in seven innings. “I love being with the girls. I love everything that we’re doing.” On getting recognition for this achievement, she said, “Having some time in the spotlight is a little odd. I think I’m just staying humble. I’m not a very, ‘Wow, look at me,’ kind of person.”
White also found some early season form at the tournament. Over the week, she put up 14 hits and batted 11 runners in, earning her the Everence Student-Athlete of the Week award. “I feel like I played really well, but my team definitely helped me a lot,” she said.
“We talked about being a scrappy team,” Barrows said. “Doing whatever it takes. Rather than trying to wait for it to come to us, we’re going to go out and take it for ourselves.”
This mindset of taking every opportunity they can worked well for them in the games they played. Wagner said, “We saw some really good pitching. We saw some good defense. We did okay on offense.”
Despite the Space Coast Games being the first action for the team in 2026, they scored a victory in their very first match, against a team that had already played this year prior to the tournament. “I think that it gave us some good momentum going into this season,” Wagner said.
White said, “I think it was good to see where we were at and grow and learn. … I think we’re learning from our losses we’ve had and also the wins and comparing how we did.”
Wagner said, “It is kind of bittersweet because you have to see that sort of disappointment before you can really realize success and appreciate it. … We saw a lot of good, and I think we saw a lot of areas that we can kind of refocus some energy on.”
Despite starting the year off with a losing record, they have more to focus on. White said, “We want to be able to compete in the tournament at the end of the season and make it further than we have before. … We [will] need to really come together, both offensively and defensively.”
Wagner said, “I think we are moving in the right direction.”
“I think the biggest goal that we have is just to try to play within ourselves, try to be the best version of ourselves and not necessarily try to compare ourselves to other programs or teams.”
The rescheduled Valentine’s Day games will take place on Friday against Saint Mary’s College on home turf.
