Goshen splits doubleheader at Grace behind Griffin's late swing and Wilson's complete game

WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Goshen College split a Saturday doubleheader with Grace at Tom Roy - UPI Park, dropping the opener 10-0 in eight innings before answering with a 2-1 win in the nightcap behind Troy Griffin's two-run homer and a complete-game effort from Logan Wilson.

The split continued a recent shift in the series for the Maple Leafs. Goshen has now won two of the last three meetings with Grace after having won just one of the previous 10. The decisive moment of the second game came in the fifth inning, when Griffin turned on a 3-2 pitch and drove it over the left-field fence, scoring Chase Smith and giving Goshen the only runs it would need.

Game 1 belonged to Grace starter Kyle Showley, who worked seven scoreless innings, allowed two hits and struck out nine. Goshen managed only two hits in the opener while striking out 11 times, though the Maple Leafs were hit by four pitches. Grace broke through with three runs in the third inning when Ian Wilson doubled to right-center, Jose Ayala followed with a two-run double to left-center, and Cayden Calloway added an RBI single. The Lancers added another run in the fourth after Darl Gustin doubled and later scored on Mayo Fernandez's single.

The game got away in the eighth. Grace sent six more runs across to end it, with Ayala delivering another two-run double down the left-field line. Joey Diaz added a sacrifice fly, Gabriel Maldonado chipped in an RBI single, and another run scored on an error. Ayala finished with four RBIs and two doubles, while Gustin and Ian Wilson each had two hits and two runs scored. Grace collected 13 hits, four doubles and four stolen bases in the opener.

Goshen flipped the tone in Game 2 with sharp pitching and one timely swing. Wilson went the distance in the seven-inning game, allowing one run on seven hits with six strikeouts and no walks. Grace threatened throughout and left eight runners on base, but Wilson kept the Maple Leafs in front by working out of traffic until the seventh.

After Griffin's fifth-inning home run put Goshen ahead 2-0, Grace finally broke through in the bottom of the seventh. Will Ambrose was hit by a pitch and later scored when Carter Stogsdill and Mayo Fernandez delivered back-to-back singles, trimming the lead to one. Stogsdill finished 3 for 3 for Grace, but Wilson closed out the complete game to secure the split. Goshen finished with five hits in the second game, three walks and two hit batters, and rode the fifth-inning burst all the way to the final out.