GOSHEN – Plymouth’s Pilgrims lost a second straight game and their first in the NLC dropping a 6-2 final to the Goshen Red Hawks.

It was a pitchers duel for the better part of the game as Plymouth starter Cam Dennie and Goshen starter Joey Peeples battled it out with Dennie holding on to a one run lead until a walk, an error and two hits in the fifth led to three Goshen runs and enough of a lead to win the game.

Peeples held the Pilgrims to just three hits and their only run came on a two out single by Nate Nixon, followed by a double by Cole Filson to plate the first Plymouth run in the second. They added one more in the seventh on Benji Nixon’s single and Cam Dennie’s triple off reliever Chase Knoblock.

“We were able to fight through a couple things early on we had some guys on and they wiggled out of it,” said Plymouth head coach Ryan Wolfe. “I thought their pitcher (Peeples) did a fantastic job of making pitches when he needed to. He had all three pitches he could throw for strikes. He was throwing his curveball early in the count for a strike and coming back with fastballs late in the count.”

Peeples being able to throw the off speed pitches for strikes early in counts, early in the game kept the Plymouth offense that had exploded for 23 hits and 21 runs in the last two games off balance.

“Him being able to throw that breaking pitch early in the count for a strike had us guessing,” said Wolfe. “We were swinging at curve balls early and then you’re kind of guessing up there. Credit for him being able to do that.”

Dennie matched the Goshen starter until the fifth when his third straight lead off walk finally came back to haunt him with the three run fifth. Dennie gave up just three hits and struck out four and kept the Pilgrims within striking distance.

Then a nightmare sixth gave the Red Hawks three more.

“We were right there 3-1 in the sixth and I thought we had a chance there because I knew who we had coming up in the seventh,” said Wolfe. “They were able to get some, couple pitches here, couple pitches there, a run down we should have had and out and we didn’t and that run scores. We have to learn to keep ourselves in the ball game late.”

The Pilgrims (6-3, and 3-1 in the NLC) will come home to face Wawasee in another conference battle on Wednesday, take on Logansport on the road on Thursday and then finish the week Friday with another NLC contest at NorthWood.

“We’re relatively still a young team,” said Wolfe. “We have a good day of practice tomorrow and that’s what we need to shore some things up. It’s a long grueling season. We definitely have to get one at home on Wednesday and leave this one here and continue to get better. That’s what it’s all about.”

Plymouth  0 1 0  0 0 0  1  2-5-3

Goshen  0 0 0  0 3 3  x  6-4-1

WP – Joey Peeples. LP – Cam Dennie. S – Chase Knoblock.  3B – Cam Dennie (P). 2B – Cole Filson (P), Robbie Riegsacker (G).