Maple Leafs Top Marian In Pitchers’ Duel For Senior Day Split
Hartig (3-for-3) scores lone run in victory in penultimate home appearance
GOSHEN, Ind. — Ryan Hartig celebrated senior day with three hits and the game’s only run on Tuesday as the Goshen College baseball team knocked off Marian 1-0 in the middle game of a Crossroads League series at Sarge Yoder Field.
Colby Malson recorded his seventh save of the season, tying a Maple Leaf record, on a 33-degree afternoon when a stiff west wind dropped the wind chill into the 20s.
The Knights (15-21, 9-9) claimed game two of the doubleheader 14-4 to earn a split. Goshen’s record improves to 16-21 overall and 8-11 in conference.
Braedon Evans scattered seven singles in six shutout innings on the mound; the sophomore allowed six of his eight baserunners with two outs, stranding six of them and erasing the other two with the help of double plays.
Malson retired all three men he faced in the seventh, matching Spenser Triplett’s 350-day-old mark for saves in a season. The sophomore also extended his career saves record to 11, four clear of his closest competition.
After Marian starter Matt Burleton held Goshen to two base hits through 3 1/3 innings, Hartig waited until the last moment to show bunt in the top of the fourth and beat the throw up the first-base line. He stole second and moved to third on a Kody McGuire single, coming in to score on a misplay in right field. The Knights would get out of the inning one batter later on a double-play grounder, making the run unearned.
Marian threatened again in the fifth inning, getting a leadoff single from Zack St. Pierre and a pair of back-to-back hits from Mike Underwood and Maverick Bacon later in the inning. Thankfully for the hosts, a 1-6-3 double play had retired St. Pierre in the interim and Evans got a flyout to right-center to preserve the lead.
Burleton suffered the complete-game loss after allowing five hits and a walk against six strikeouts. Bacon’s two hits and Hartig’s three each led their teams.
The Knights scored five runs in the first two innings of game two before adding on in each of the last four frames of a run-rule win.
A leadoff single from Underwood followed by three straight two-out hits staked Marian to a 3-0 lead before Goshen batted, although the Maple Leafs scored twice without a hit in the bottom of the frame on three walks, a hit batter and a wild pitch.
The guests replied with two more two-out hits to go up 5-2 after 1½ innings, but Goshen would bring the tying run to the plate four batters into the bottom half. Chase Hunter broke up the no-hitter with one out, followed by a Brad Stoltzfus walk to put men on first and second. Malson drove in Goshen’s third run with a single down the left-field line.
The third straight baserunner prompted Marian to call the bullpen, bringing in freshman Reese Wills, and that was about as close as GC would get. Wills hit Hartig to load the bases, then uncorked a wild pitch that scored Stoltzfus against the record of starter Kadin Abell, but then allowed two singles over his next 4 2/3 innings and stranded both runners en route to the relief win.
MU scored two runs in the fifth, chasing Travis Grimm after a single scored third baseman Cody Earl and left the runner with a hole on the back of his left pant leg. Despite his newfound additional wind resistance, Earl added a three-run homer in a four-run sixth before coming in to score in a two-run eighth as well.
Earl finished 4 for 4 at the plate, scoring four times and driving in five. Four other Knights recorded two hits while three additional batters scored twice. The visitors smacked seven doubles off a total of three pitchers, while Goshen recorded five hits from five batters. Stoltzfus and Cody McCoy each reached by way of both a hit and a walk.
The Maple Leafs return to action on Wednesday, hosting Grace College in a conference game that has been postponed three times. First pitch has been set for 1 p.m., advanced from an original time of 2 p.m. due to the weather forecast. Following the league game, the two schools will complete a non-conference game that was suspended on Feb. 18 at Grand Park in Westfield. Goshen leads that seven-inning game 3-0 after three innings.