softball
March 13, 2025
Softball seniors break career records
The Goshen women’s softball team took a trip to Florida over spring break for the Space Coast Spring Games. They played 10 games in the span of six days with a break on Wednesday. The Maple Leafs tallied a record of 4-6 during the tournament. Two of the highlights from the trip were the two Goshen career records that were broken by seniors Shea VanScoter, who broke the doubles record with 51, and Alyssa McDonald, who broke the triples record with 10. McDonald, an outfielder from Salt Lake City, Utah, said her record-breaking moment didn’t feel real to her. “When...
February 15, 2024
Speedy start propels softball to series sweep
The Goshen College softball team started their season off strong, sweeping a doubleheader against Albion with scores of 6-1 and 13-1. Alisyn Catenacci, a senior, started the season with three scoreless innings; she ended the game with a run given up in five innings pitched off of just two hits. She also contributed in the batter’s box, driving in the Maple Leafs’ first run of the season, and scoring off of a double in the third inning. “It felt good to get [out] there for the first time and power through as a team,” she said. “We were able to...
November 9, 2023
Softball and baseball on the horizon
With only three months until their first games, the Goshen College softball and baseball seasons are fast approaching. The baseball team is coming off a 2023 season with an overall record of 10-38. The softball team finished the 2023 season with a 24-26 record. Baseball has added 13 new players to their program this year, while softball has added only two. Currently, the teams are holding unofficial workouts and will begin official practices after Christmas break. Mckenzie Richardson, a senior, said the softball team practices bonding by holding a team activity at least once a month. Richardson talked about “captain-led...
March 23, 2023
Softball continues strong start
For the first time since 2001, the Goshen College softball team won their first four conference games. Before Tuesday’s games against Marian University, the Leafs were on a seven-game winning streak and unbeaten in conference play. The Leafs dropped two close games to the Knights, who are ranked No. 23 in the nation, but still hold a conference record of 4-2 and an overall record of 12-7. Sitting at fourth in the Crossroads League, the Leafs are behind only teams that are either receiving votes or nationally ranked. In early March, the Leafs traveled to Florida. When they arrived, they...
March 16, 2023
Athletics mid-season check-in
Now that Goshen College students have returned from spring break, spring sports are fully underway, with many teams reaching critical points in their seasons. Here’s a look into what they’ve accomplished so far, as well as what’s to come. The softball team is currently on a five-game win streak, after finishing up their spring break trip in Florida with three wins and two more yesterday against Bethel. They are currently 10-5 after the doubleheader victories. Neither game was close: The Leafs trounced the Pilots by 9-3 and 16-5 to put them at two wins and zero losses in conference play....
February 16, 2023
Softball starts slow, but wins at home
The Goshen College softball team kicked off their season last Friday with a double-header in Brighton, Michigan. The Leafs’ day was marked with fast pitchers and hard hitters. They first competed against Concordia University of Michigan, which defeated the Leafs in a 8-0 shutout. The second game yielded similar results, with the Leafs falling to Lawrence Tech University (LTU) 4-0. In the first matchup against Concordia, GC’s freshman starter Esme Pico struck out the final batter of the first inning, keeping the game scoreless going into the second. Concordia rebounded quickly, though, scoring two in the inning. Another source...
January 26, 2023
Softball Swings into Preseason
The Goshen College softball team will debut their 2023 season on Feb. 10. This season, the Leafs are under the direction of Luke Wagner, who took over the position of head coach in August 2022. Wagner previously coached at Rhodes College, an NCAA Division III institute in Memphis, Tennessee, for 11 seasons. During his time there, he racked up the most wins of any coach in the program, with 217 wins and a 58.8% win percentage. Wagner is also pushing his teams toward academic success. Over Wagner’s years at Rhodes College, his teams earned “Top 100” GPA status, an award...
March 17, 2022
Ri Koteles on playing with a ‘grateful heart’
Ri Koteles, a fifth-year softball player, recently broke the school record in walks and doubles. I sat down with her to discuss her success. Q: How is your season going so far? A: We started off our season really strong during our spring break in California. We faced great competition and got a great feel on how to work together, what our individual roles are, and how to be most successful. It really set a great tone for our team and we are really excited to start conference play. Q: You broke the standing record for career walks...
February 17, 2022
Baseball opens season with a win; softball prepares for spring break start
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...
April 9, 2021
Spring ball finds success during Easter weekend
It was a busy weekend for Goshen College sports as Crossroads League opponents University of Saint Francis, Huntington University, and Spring Arbor University came to town for a pair of four-game series against the Leafs’ softball and baseball teams. On the softball side, GC lost their first series 2-0 to Huntington but picked up their one win of the weekend in dramatic fashion in Saturday’s first contest against Saint Francis with a walk-off single. The Leafs struggled to develop a consistent offense in Friday’s series against Huntington, losing game one 7-1, and being shut out 10-0 through five innings in...
March 25, 2021
Softball finds their stride early on
With 30 games left to play in the 2021 season, the Maple Leaf softball team has compiled a 12-10 overall record, while going 2-6 in conference play. While the Leafs have struggled to pick up wins at home with a record of 2-4, they’ve competed well on the road with an away record of 6-6, and are undefeated in neutral locations at 4-0. The Leafs offense is led by Jolie Groeneveld, who currently bats .443, has 18 runs, 27 hits, and is tied for second on the team in runs-batted-in with 14. Senior catcher Rianna Koteles ranks second on the...
March 13, 2020
Spring break recap
The Goshen College baseball and softball teams hit the road two weeks ago to put their winter training to the test. Here’s a recap of their trips. Softball Numbers 12: Games played 3: States played in (Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma) 60: Hours in the bus 7-5: Trip record Baseball Numbers 9: Games played 3: States played in (North Carolina, Tennessee, Florida) 38: Hours in the bus 1-8: Trip record Best game S -“(The game) against Langston University. We were down by 2 runs going into the seventh inning. With 2 outs, we rallied and scored 6 runs to...
January 31, 2020
Softball season opens Friday
The Goshen College softball team will kick off its season at the NAIA Leadoff Classic in Roosevelt Illinois this Friday, Jan. 31. The team saw a breakthrough season in 2019, finishing with the best record in more than a decade (20-33-1). Julia Clare Plezbert — or “Coach P,” as she is referred to by her team — is back for her second year as head coach with the team looking to build on the trend they started in 2019. The softball team is returning many of its top players from last year, including ace pitcher Emily Cummings, a senior, who...
March 29, 2019
Softball splits with rival Pilots in home opener
The Maple Leaf softball team was finally able to play on a dry home field inside the John Ingold Athletic Complex as they took on conference foe Bethel College in a doubleheader on Tuesday afternoon. Junior Emily Cummings got the start for the Leafs in the first game as she looked to improve on her team-leading 5-3 record. She did just that, dealing a full seven innings, allowing just one run on three hits, striking out six. The Pilots struck first in the opening inning off an RBI groundout from Shelby Prows, but the two hits in the inning was...
March 7, 2019
Softball wins three out of four in Arizona
While some Goshen students were stuck with winter weather last week, the Maple Leaf softball team spent their spring break out west as they played eight games in California before ending their sunny road trip in Arizona where they took on Benedictine University in a four game series. In the first game of the series, the Maple Leafs started out hot, recording three runs in the top of the first inning on a three RBI triple from sophomore Ri Koteles. However, the Redhawks would answer with a pair of runs in the latter half of the inning. The Leafs didn’t...