Published: May 21, 2008 10:06 am         

Senior delight at Phend Field

On “Senior Night” in Goshen High School baseball Tuesday, a couple juniors made sure their older buddies exited Phend Field as winners.

Spencer Oversen pitched a nifty three-hitter and Brett Hunter drove in three runs as the Redskins topped the East Noble Knights, 6-2, in their regular-season home finale.

Seniors in their final game appearance at Phend Field were Jordan Short, Josh Ortiz, Jake Drudge, Ian Lynn, Brenton Cripe, John Sevison and J.P. Whalen.

Also sure to be missed after graduation are student managers Tyler Miller and Jeremy Bontrager.

First-year Redskin coach Hal Farmwald said of his first baseball senior class, “They are a great group of kids and this was a big win for them and the program.

“Not all of them got a ton of playing time, but they come in every day with a great attitude and show leadership.

“Tyler Miller and Jeremy Bontrager deserve special recognition as student managers. They have been the backbone of any program they have been involved with.”

Oversen struck out eight and walked two in holding down a heavy-hitting East Noble team which had a recent eight-game winning streak and left town with a 15-10 record.

The Redskins, 12-11, finish the regular season Thursday at Elkhart Central’s Rice Field. Varsity game time is about 6:30, following a JV contest.

Goshen then prepares for a Class 4A sectional opener against Concord at 11 a.m. Memorial Day (Monday) at Elkhart Memorial.

Goshen and East Noble were scoreless until the bottom of the fourth inning when seniors Drudge and Short reached with singles.

With two out, Hunter drove a ball to the fence in right field for a double, scoring both Drudge and Short.

An inning later, a couple EN errors helped the Redskins pad their lead. Short delivered an RBI infield single and Hunter walked with the bases loaded.

Junior Brock Bender added a sacrifice fly in the sixth, scoring sophomore Carl Kay who joined Short and Hunter in having two hits on the day.

Ryan Risedorph of the Knights spoiled Oversen’s bid for a shutout with a two-run homer in the top of the sixth inning, his 10th round-tripper of the spring.

“Oversen pitched over three errors we made and was able to get the next hitters out,” said Farmwald. “That proves he is a battler. East Noble is a good hitting team, solid and disciplined.

“We didn’t kill the ball in this game, but were able to scratch out some runs.

“It has been an up and down season. We didn’t play well in losing to Wawasee and NorthWood last week, but then on Saturday we were able to win against a pretty good LaPorte pitcher.”