The Goshen College baseball team kicked off their season this past weekend with a four game set against Pikeville University in Pikeville, Kentucky. The Leafs were swept by the hosting Bears in a pair of doubleheaders played Saturday and Sunday. The Leafs’ offense improved as the trip went on, but Pikeville seemed to have a big inning waiting. As soon as Goshen appeared to grab some momentum, the Bears were able to put together 11 multiple run innings across the weekend. Goshen dropped Saturday’s games 10-1 and 5-1 and then 13-4 and 13-7 on Sunday. Vincent Caschera, a senior, and...

By Seth Wesman • February 23, 2017 • Sports

Noah Shail, sophomore, received the Springer Design Maple Leaf Athlete of the week award for this past week.Photo by Maria Bischoff A disastrous fourth inning left little doubt that the visiting Marian University Knights would take both games of Tuesday afternoon’s baseball doubleheader at Goshen College. However, a late offensive surge brought the Goshen baseball team back from a 7-0 deficit to a stunning 9-8 victory to split the two games. The opening game saw Goshen score first and take an early 2-1 lead over Marian before problematic innings in the fourth and fifth allowed Marian to score six runs...

By Seth Wesman • April 14, 2016 • Sports

The demanding schedule of athletics often gets in the way of student athletes who want to do a semester-long SST, but this May Term, the GC baseball team has the opportunity to get around that. Sort of. Led by Maria Sanchez Schirch, professor of Spanish, and Doug Schirch, professor of chemistry, members of the baseball team will be traveling to Nicaragua for the three weeks of May Term. This is the first time the college has offered something like this, and if the program goes well, it may be opened to other teams. “This option gives athletes the opportunity to...

By Jordan Waidelich • April 14, 2016 • Features

On Monday the Goshen College baseball team hosted conference opponent Bethel College in a day that served up a healthy dose of baseball. Originally scheduled as a doubleheader, the teams also had to complete a game that had been suspended a few days earlier due to darkness. The Leafs were able to finish the first game with a victory before splitting the next two with Bethel. Play began in the sixth inning of the suspended game, which saw plenty of early offense and both teams score three runs in the opening inning. After that pitching and defense took over, as...

By Seth Wesman • April 7, 2016 • Sports

On Tuesday, the Goshen College Baseball team traveled to Fort Wayne to play the Mastodons of Indiana-Purdue University-Fort Wayne, falling 10-2. The Maple Leafs got off to fast start, scoring the game’s opening run in the top of the first when Mike Namisnak, junior, had an RBI (run batted in) that allowed Brad Stoltzfus, sophomore, to score, giving Goshen a 1-0 lead. The Mastodons didn’t waste any time on offense, however, striking for six runs in the bottom of the first inning to grab a 6-1 lead-a lead that IPFW never relinquished. The hosts would tack on insurance runs in...

By Seth Wesman • March 31, 2016 • Sports

On Tuesday, the Goshen baseball team traveled to Crestwood, Illinois for a doubleheader against Roosevelt University. Goshen would drop the evening’s opening game 10-4 and despite a late Maple Leaf surge in game two, Roosevelt would rally to win again 4-3. Game one saw the teams trade runs back and forth early on, with Roosevelt holding a 4-2 lead after two innings. The Maple Leafs fought back to tie the game at four with runs in the fourth and fifth innings before the floodgates opened, as Roosevelt scored six unanswered runs in the fifth and sixth innings to win game...

By Seth Wesman • March 17, 2016 • Sports

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...

By Seth Wesman • March 10, 2016 • Sports

With the weather in Northern Indiana unable to make up its mind, Goshen’s baseball team headed to Georgia over spring break to open their season. The Maple Leafs concluded the trip with a 3-6 record to the start off the season. The season opened on Saturday, February 20 in a double header against Alice Lloyd College in Emerson, Georgia. Goshen swept the doubleheader with a pair of impressive victories over the Eagles, winning 9-1 and 14-6. A trio of Maple Leafs, Jesse Quintanilla and Bryan Aponte, both seniors, and Ryan Hartig, a sophomore, contributed two RBIs (runs batted in) apiece...

By Seth Wesman • March 3, 2016 • Sports

For most, the end of January means more winter weather and minimal outdoor activity. However, for the Goshen College baseball team it means making final preparations for another season on the diamond. The Maple Leafs look to improve on the 9-40 record posted last season. The goal of improvement is no stranger to coach Alex Childers, who has led Goshen by increasing win totals for both of the past two years. “The biggest thing is improving, and we’ve done that the past couple of years, staying in more games,” said Childers. “But we didn’t do a great job of closing...

By Andrew Snyder • January 28, 2016 • Sports

On Monday, January 18 the Goshen College Baseball program will host a youth baseball clinic with the help of Erik Kratz, a professional baseball player of 14 years. The clinic will run from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the Roman Gingerich Recreation-Fitness Center and will be available for participants of high-school age or younger. Kratz is a 2002 graduate of Eastern Mennonite University and is currently a member of the San Diego Padres. Kratz has proved to be a journeyman in his 14 years as a professional, playing with five different organizations and 14 different teams throughout all levels...

By Chandler Ingle • January 14, 2016 • Sports

For the first time in history, the Goshen College baseball team will be embarking on a trip to Nicaragua. This trip is exclusive to the baseball team in which 27 players will be staying with host families, just as students do on a full semester of a Study-Service Term. This trip to Nicaragua is considered half of a Study Service Term. The players will not only experience new culture; they will also get credit for this trip. Each member of the baseball team will be paired with a host family in which one person of that family has some relation...

By Lucas Hiler • October 1, 2015 • Sports

Goshen’s baseball team looked to pick up a couple of W’s out of the conference on Tuesday, hosting the Eagles of Robert Morris University. Unfortunately it was the Eagles who came away with a clean sweep, limiting the Maple Leafs to just a pair of runs in the double header. First-year Tyler Waslawski started strong for Goshen, holding RMU scoreless for through 3 innings. But in the fourth inning, the Eagles rattled off 4 runs. RMU followed up with a run in the sixth and then 5 more in the seventh to officially put the game out of reach for...

By Seth Wesman • April 2, 2015 • Sports

After winning 9-0 on Saturday, the Goshen baseball team looked to carry that momentum into Sunday’s double header against Cleary University. The results were not on Goshen’s side however, as the Leafs fell 6-1 and 8-2. Freshman Tyler Waslawski was on the mound for the Leafs in game 1, and pitched well, surrendering only 2 runs on 3 hits with 4 strikeouts in 5.1 innings of work. Freshman Travis Grimm and sophomore Seth Lapp pitched an inning and .2 innings respectively. Cleary scored first in game 1, striking twice in the top of the 3rd before Goshen responded by cutting...

By Seth Wesman • March 26, 2015 • Sports

The Goshen baseball team traveled to Bluffton, Ohio last Sunday to take on the Beavers of Bluffton College. Playing in a double header, the Maple Leafs looked to end their six game losing streak with at least one win that night. Unfortunately, it was Bluffton who came away with a pair of victories, winning 2-0 and 3-2. In game 1, sophomore Michael Walker pitcher went the distance, pitching all 6 innings and striking out 6 Bluffton hitters, while only surrendering 2 runs on 7 hits. Bluffton scored the game’s only runs with a 2 RBI single in the third by...

By Seth Wesman • March 19, 2015 • Sports

This past weekend, Goshen’s baseball team traveled to the University of Pikeville in Kentucky for two days of double-header baseball. The Maple Leafs looked to capitalize on some of the momentum from their wins over spring break, but came up empty in Pikeville, going 0-4 on the weekend trip. In the first game on Sunday, Goshen took an early lead and appeared on their way to a victory before Pikeville got going. Junior Bryan Aponte scored on a hit by sophomore Urbano Hernandez in the second inning, and for a while it looked like that would be enough for sophomore...

By Seth Wesman • March 12, 2015 • Sports