PREP BASEBALL: Goshen shocks top-ranked Penn, punches ticket to semistate with first regional title since 1981

NAPPANEE — The Goshen RedHawks came into the 2025 season with expectations of a possible run towards a conference and a sectional title.

Instead, the diverse roster that starts senior through freshmen featured struggles all year. They were 9-13 through the completion of the regular season.

They hit a switch, and for the third time ever — and first time since 1981 — the RedHawks are baseball regional champions. This one meant even more with it coming at the hands of a 4-2 win over a No. 1-ranked and 30-win Penn program that had won two of the last three Class 4A state titles and had beaten Goshen in the postseason in four of the last seven seasons.

It was a pure shocker thanks to the Rally RedHawks.

“Yeah, undoubtedly,” head coach JJ DuBois answered when asked if this was his best win in his career after a Gatorade tub was poured on the first-time regional-champion skipper. “No one in the state, no one in the area thought we had a chance. The only people that believed in us was the great team right there. Proud of those kids right there. They didn’t listen to anyone from the outside, they just said ‘we’re going to go win the game.’”

No. 1 Penn (now 30-2) was without question the favorite in the first of two regional games played at NorthWood’s Field of Dreams Complex in Nappanee on Saturday. The RedHawks (now 12-13) were thought to be underdogs, and major ones at that.

Now they have one of the biggest upsets in recent state tournament history. A packed crowd of spectators clad in red were there to join the Goshen dugout in nonstop noise-making.

“It’s exciting, it’s big for the community,” DuBois said. “Goshen gets a bad rap for no reason and everyone that comes here thinks it’s a great place to be and the kids are great. People from other schools are probably trying to get them to come there but they don’t want to leave here, they want to build something here and they are doing that right now.”

Winning pitcher Ryen Diaz dazed and confused a Penn lineup that had averaged over 10 runs a game entering Saturday. Diaz started the game and threw six innings, allowing nine hits but just two runs. He walked one and struck out two in 82 pitches.

“Everything was working today, all the pitches,” Diaz said with a smile that looked to be locked in place.

“I knew we could beat them,” the junior said. “I knew from the start that we could beat them, especially with the games we saw earlier, we had a chance to win.”

DuBois said he started Diaz for his off-speed pitch against a Penn lineup he saw as fastball hitters.

Kyan Miller, the other end of the 1-2 pitching combo, came in to finish the job in the seventh with the Kinsgmen’s two-through-four hitters due up.

He mowed them down with a flyball, a swinging strike three that was tipped into the glove and a routine groundball from second to first.

Never a doubt.

“I knew I was going to come in eventually,” Miller said. “I figured I was going to come in. I’ve never come in for relief before in my life. It was new to me.”

Greeny (assistant James Greensides) told me ‘Hey, you’ve got the seventh,’ and I was like ‘Good, I want to be in the seventh, I want to face these guys, I want to face the 2-3-4 [batters]. I knew I was going to get it done.”

After Karter Marcum clutched the ball at first, the RedHawks stormed the turf field in celebration. Not since 1981 had a Goshen baseball team made it this far. DuBois was right that the fewest of the few expected Goshen to do it on Saturday.

“They were loose,” DuBois said about practices before the regional matchup. “It was trying to get the kids to believe. It didn’t take long for them to believe in themselves and that’s exactly what they did. They knew if we play the right way we can beat anybody in the state including that unbelievable team we just beat.”

The knockout punch was perfect, and early.

In the top of the first, Goshen did what few had all season. Penn starting pitcher Colton Rerick was 8-0 on the season and had given up three earned runs all season. His ERA was below 0.50.

Quinn Shreiner Landes began the game with a single on a full count. A fielder’s choice to the pitcher moved him to second with one retired. Braxton Cline hit a single with two outs after Landes was caught trying to steal third. Miller walked to put runners on second and first with two outs.

Colton Rapp came up with the big hit. His double was booted to right field and gave Goshen a 2-0 lead. Right after, Jensen Meikle singles in what would be the winning run. Penn left two on in the bottom of the frame and Goshen led 3-0 after one inning.

“We prepared all week for it,” DuBois said. “We’re prepared to go hunt fastballs. We know they have kids that can pitch. That’s their strength is their pitching so we were going to go look early for their fastball and in their minds, they thought they were going to blow it past us but our kids were ready for it.”

Penn would score in the third but a routine 6-4-3 double play left the RedHawks holding on to a 3-1 lead. Back-to-back doubles by the Kingsmen added another in the fourth to trail 3-2.

Goshen added an insurance run in the seventh when Cline drove a single past the left side of the infield.

“Our focus was to get that insurance run and we got it,” Cline said. “We had guys on first and third and coach was about to run a steal play but they said ‘Let bubba hit.’ I got a hit and brought Bryson [Wilson] in.”

In DuBois’ sixth season, it’s the crowning moment for a coach who was 66-69 overall entering the season. After two straight seasons ended with sectional championship losses, DuBois has guided his group to a place little thought they could get this season.

“It has been insane,” Miller said. “We knew coming into this year that this team was going to be good and obviously we didn’t show that during the season. We’re great, we know when we are on top of our game, we can beat anybody. We proved that and we’re hot now and we’re not going to stop.”

Goshen will now advance to the Class 4A semistate round. Semistate locations include Schreiber Field (LaPorte hosts), Loeb Stadium (Lafayette Jefferson hosts), Four Winds Field (South Bend Riley hosts) and Oak Hill.

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PREP BASEBALL

Regional hosted at NorthWood High School

Goshen – 3; 0; 0; 0; 0; 0; 1 – 4; 8; 0

#1 Penn – 0; 0; 1; 1; 0; 0; 0 – 2; 9; 0

Goshen advances to the Class 4A northern semistate round