Late Rally Comes Up Short In Try For Afternoon Sweep
By Seth Wesman
Sports Information Intern
GOSHEN, Ind. — Goshen College got the winning run to plate in the bottom of the seventh inning Tuesday, but the Leafs fell 6-4 in the second game of an afternoon baseball doubleheader with Lourdes University. The Maple Leafs earned a split of the day’s games with a 7-6 lead to begin the day.
Despite falling behind 2-0 early, Goshen (21-22-1) scored a run in the second and three in the third on Clinton Stroble II’s 3-run shot to take a 4-2 lead in game one. Lourdes (8-28) answered with 4 straight runs of their own to grab a 6-4 lead entering the middle of the fifth.
The back-and-forth battle continued as Vincent Caschera tied the game with a two-run single in the fifth inning. An inning later, Ben Longacre got on base with a one-out single and stole second before Preston Carr delivered a two-out RBI single to once again give Goshen the lead.
A leadoff hit batter followed by a sacrifice bunt and another hit left the tying run on third base for Lourdes in the bottom of the inning, but right fielder Quinlan Armstrong threw the runner out at the plate on a would-be sacrifice fly to end the game.
The Maple Leafs’ Chandler Ingle got his first career start in game one and went four innings before turning the ball over to his bullpen. Kyle Kotecki, Travis Grimm and Spenser Triplett each pitched an inning in relief with Grimm earning the win and Triplett recording the save.
Stroble led the offense with 3 RBIs and the only longball in the win. Caschera drove in two as Carr and Quinlan Armstrong each drove in a run apiece. Carr, Stroble and Brad Stoltzfus each scored twice.
Kolby Rogge was Lourdes’ starter and also lasted 4 innings. Mike Vomastek and Kyle Sacher each pitched an inning with Sacher taking the loss. Glen Crabtree drove in three of the Gray Wolves’ runs and scored on an error following a 2-run triple. Jay Denman and Dallas Riggs each plated a run each.
Game two saw the Gray Wolves jump out to an early 4-0 lead through the first two innings. Goshen was able to cut into the deficit with a run in each of the third and fourth innings. Lourdes added a pair of insurance runs in the sixth inning to extend their lead to 6-2.
Goshen chipped away at the lead, scoring once in the fifth on an Austin Rook pinch-hit single down the left-field line, but relief pitcher Jim Laranga retired the next two batters (each of whom represented the tying run) to get out of the inning.
Connor Clemens’ one-out RBI single in the seventh brought the winning run to the plate with runners on the corners, but a strikeout and a shallow flyout ended Goshen’s comeback bid.
Seth Lapp threw three innings for the Leafs before Brad Lantz, Colton Daniel and Colby Malson all pitched in relief. Caschera, Armstrong, Clemens and Rook each drove in runs in the loss, which saw Goshen commit five errors. Stoltzfus, Triplett, Longacre and Clemens scored a run apiece.
Jeremy Zsolcsak was the winning pitcher for Lourdes with Laranga earning the save. Riggs, Crabtree and Reilly Walters each drove in one of the Gray Wolves’ three earned runs in the victory.
The Maple Leafs’ win in the first game was their 21st of the season, a feat only managed by five previous GC baseball teams, and their 100th victory of the 2010s decade.
Goshen will be back in action on Wednesday hosting conference opponent Taylor University. First pitch for the single nine-inning game is scheduled for 3 p.m.