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Foresters take CL diamond title with big win over Goshen

The Huntington University baseball team won the Crossroads League regular-season title outright with a 16-2 victory over host Goshen College in the second game of a doubleheader on Friday, April 28.

After securing, at minimum, a share of the conference title following a three-game sweep of Taylor University on April 22, the 24th-ranked Foresters needed just one win in their final four league games to clinch sole possession of it. Huntington opened the twinbill versus Goshen with a 4-3 defeat, but bounced back with the big win in the nightcap to capture the eighth conference title of Coach Mike Frame’s tenure with the program.

The Foresters, 28-11, 21-5 in league play, were led by sophomore Adam Roser, who banged out four hits with five runs batted in. Senior Shea Beauchamp produced a hit and three RBI while senior Will Coursen-Carr registered three hits – two of which were home runs – and two RBI with four runs scored. Sophomore Tyler Zimske chipped in a two-run dinger to the team’s offensive effort, which featured 16 hits by 10 different players.

After taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning, Huntington expanded its advantage dramatically in the second and third frames, tallying five and three runs, respectively, to craft a commanding 9-0 lead. The Foresters pushed a single run across in the fourth, the Maple Leafs returned the favor in the fifth and both squads scored once in the sixth. Huntington then plated five runners in the eighth to put an exclamation point on a big day at the plate.

All that run support benefitted Mason Shinabery, who pitched the first six innings for Huntington. The freshman yielded seven hits and two earned runs while racking up six strikeouts to improve to 4-2. Junior Tarrin Beachy tossed two frames of relief, ceding just a hit.

In the first game, the Foresters led 2-1 after the second inning, but the Maple Leafs proceeded to log solo tallies in each of the next three frames while shutting Huntington out to seize the lead. The Glen Men managed to score once more in the sixth, but couldn’t find the equalizer.

Senior Michael Crowley paced Huntington with a homer, a double and an RBI. Senior Dylan Henricks contributed a triple and an RBI while Zimske and senior Dalton Combs each chipped in a pair of base pokes to the visitors’ 10-hit effort.

Senior Tanner Wyse took the loss for the Foresters, allowing seven hits and four runs, three of which were earned, while striking out seven and issuing no walks. He slips to 6-2.

Huntington entered the day already having punched its ticket to the opening round of the NAIA World Series, which is set to start May 15.

With the split, Goshen stands at 23-26-1, 11-15 in league action.