By Stu Swartz
For Goshen’s Redskins, maybe their best baseball days of 2009 are yet ahead of them.
The Redskins took a positive step Wednesday by closing the Northern Lakes Conference portion of their schedule with an 11-8 victory at NorthWood over the Panthers.
Goshen had an 11-2 lead at one stage before the Panthers made it interesting with five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and one more in the seventh.
Senior right-hander Brett Hunter earned a pitching save by getting the final four outs and senior third baseman Jeremy Jordan made a nifty scoop and throw off a slow roller down the line to end the game.
The Redskins are now 12-14 overall and finish NLC play at 4-10. They close the regular season at home Saturday with an 11 a.m. doubleheader against the LaPorte Slicers.
Goshen then prepares to defend its championship in a well-balanced Class 4A sectional at Elkhart Memorial. The Redskins are in a bye semifinal game with Concord at about 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 30.
After a series of agonizing conference defeats, it was a relief for Goshen to get back into the victory column.
Redskin coach Hal Farmwald said, “I still believe in this team and we have the ingredients to make a run in the tournament. We just need to play every inning like the score is 0-0, then go out and get the job done.
“We needed this win very badly, but I want to give credit to those NorthWood kids and Coach (Nick) Davis. They have battled back in a lot of games like this all season.
“Hunter did a great job closing the door on the mound and Jordan made an outstanding play at third base to end the game.”
Senior right-hander Ethan Hussey was the winning pitcher. He was relieved after two batters in the sixth inning with his pitch count rising.
Hussey also belted his ninth home run of the season. The school record is 10 by Allen Hodge in 1994.
Junior Carl Kay had three hits for the Redskins, Hussey, Hunter and sophomore Troy Pickard two each. Hussey had three RBI, both Pickard and Jordan two.
Senior Blair Beehler ripped a three-run double for the Panthers, now 9-12. Junior John Sittler had two hjits, sophomore Derek Yoder two RBI and senior Chaz Bellman one.
