GC SOFTBALL: Maple Leafs split doubleheader with Huntington

Apr. 6—GOSHEN — Things were going according to plan for the Goshen College softball team through 11 innings Thursday.

After winning the first game of a doubleheader, 3-0, over Huntington University, the Maple Leafs had a 2-0 lead on the Foresters going into the top of the fifth inning in the second game.

That's when the wheels fell off for GC, and Huntington was there to capitalize.

The Foresters scored 11 runs in the final three innings of the second game to win, 11-2, and split a doubleheader with the Leafs at the John Ingold Athletic Complex.

The results bring Goshen's record to 19-10 overall and 11-5 in Crossroads Leagues games, which puts them in a three-way tie for second place in the conference standings with Spring Arbor and Mount Vernon Nazarene. All three schools are chasing Marian, which leads the Crossroads with a perfect 14-0 record in conference games so far.

GAME 1: GOSHEN COLLEGE 3, HUNTINGTON 0

Before the sour ending to the second game came a brilliant performance from Maple Leafs junior Alisyn Catenacci in the first contest.

One of the top pitchers for GC all season, the Elgin, Illinois native had one of her best performances of the year against the Foresters. She didn't allow a hit through the first four innings, then pitched herself out of jams in the fifth and seventh frames to keep Huntington scoreless.

In the fifth, the Foresters were able to get runners to second and third base with just one out. Catenacci was able to get two easy outs across the next two batters — a pop out and groundout, respectively — to escape the threat.

Huntington then had the first two batters reach base in the seventh, only for Catenacci to induce two flyouts and a groundout to end the game.

Catenacci pitched a complete game, allowing just three hits ands one walk while striking out six batters. It was her second shutout win of the season, improving her overall record to 9-4 in the circle for the Leafs.

"Alisyn has been fantastic for us, and I think the biggest improvement for her has been more between the ears than anything physical," Goshen College coach Luke Wagner said. "I think, physically, she's always had the capability. But this year, she's really taken a step forward, mentally, to do a better job of understanding what she's capable of. ... She kept her poise. She didn't get rattled. She was fantastic and did a really good job. She's been doing that all year for us."

Catenacci also had the game's biggest hit, launching a two-run homerun over the right-center field wall to make it a 3-0 contest in the bottom of the sixth inning. Goshen's first run came in the second inning off an RBI double from sophomore Kamille Badibanga, which scored freshman Ella Mcleod.

"Before the game, I was thinking if we got to three (runs), we'd have a pretty good shot to win because Alisyn's so stingy in the circle," Wagner said. "When we got to three, I knew Alisyn was going to come in (to the seventh inning) with a lot of energy."

GAME TWO: HUNTINGTON 11, GOSHEN COLLEGE 2

It looked like the Maple Leafs were going to follow a similar script in game two as it did the first one.

The home team scored two runs in the bottom of the second inning when sophomore Shea VanScoter's single to centerfield drove in teammates Mcleod and Grace Schmitt. This came right after Schmitt had pitched her way out of a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the top half of the frame.

Unfortunately for GC, the Huntington bats finally woke up in the fifth inning. They would score runs in the frame on RBI singles from Courtney Mason and Breanna Hines, respectively, tying the game at that time.

They would then explode for seven runs in the sixth inning, running away with the game. Of the nine runs Schmitt gave up, only three were earned, as the Leafs committed four errors across the fifth and sixth innings.

"We just had a lack of focus," Wagner said. "This second game, we just did not play with mental toughness. Once one thing went wrong, it just started to spiral. We just weren't able to respond quick enough, and that's something we're going to work on moving forward."

Huntington added two more runs in the seventh to give the game its final score. The Foresters are now 11-17 overall with a 7-11 Crossroads League record.

Although it was a bad loss, Wagner hopes his team can reset after it. The Leafs return to action Monday at home against Mount Vernon Nazarene, with the doubleheader set to start at 3 p.m.

"Sometimes, these sorts of losses can be a blessing and a curse," Wagner said. "We were talking earlier in the season: we had some games where we didn't play necessarily well, but we still won. Those are tough games afterwards to try and say, 'We need to do X, Y and Z better' because the outcome was still positive. A game like this where it was very lopsided, I can point to some things that we need to do better and it makes it easier to drive your point home."

Austin Hough can be reached at austin.hough@goshennews.com or at 574-538-2360. Follow him on Twitter at @AustinHoughTGN.