The Goshen Eagles picked up their sixth straight win Tuesday, defeating Highland Home 15-0 in four innings in area play.

Amanda Griggs pitched a no-hitter for the Eagles, striking out seven. The only two Highland Home batters to reach base both came in the third inning, when a batter reached on an error, followed by another batter reaching on a dropped third strike.

“Our pitching has been doing a good job all year long, but we just needed our defense to play better behind them,” said Goshen head coach Dee Hughes. “Over these last six in a row, our defense has gotten better and better.”

Goshen’s big inning was the fourth, when the Eagles scored nine runs on just two hits, thanks to six walks, eight wild pitches and four passed balls by the Highland Home battery.

The Eagles sent 12 batters to the plate in the inning, with Niyoka Slater ending the game via the mercy rule when she scored on a passed ball.

Highland Home’s Jenna Dorman faced the first six batters of the inning, walking five and allowing one hit before being pulled in favor of Morgan Jinright, who started the game in the circle for HHHS.

Slater started the inning with a walk, and later scored on a two-RBI single from Rachel Senn.

The Eagles also got an RBI single from Haley Hughes later in the inning to drive in Samantha Roy.

Goshen also scored four runs in the second inning, when Slater had a two-RBI single, followed by a two-RBI triple from Griggs.

Goshen’s other two runs came when the Eagles scored one run in both the first and third innings.

Slater scored in the first when she singled, stole second, and then scored after two consecutive groundouts moved her around.

Kathlyn Thomas scored in the fourth when she singled, stole second and was driven in on an RBI single.

Slater led Goshen, going2-3 with two RBIs, four runs scored and a stolen base.

Griggs, in addition to her dominant work in the circle, went 1-3 at the plate with two RBIs and a run scored.

Senn finished 1-3 with three RBIs, and Thomas finished 1-1 with two stolen bases and two runs scored.

The win marked the second 15-0 win in two days for Goshen.

The Eagles have outscored their opponents 30-0 over their last seven innings of play, something Hughes attributed to Goshen’s ability to change their plate approach.

“I’ve been proud of the way they’ve made adjustments to the speed of the pitching,” Hughes said. “They’ve come through, and they have had some big hits lately, and I think that shows a lot of maturity.”

The win moves Goshen to 2-0 in area play, and sets up a huge showdown with Zion Chapel Thursday in Goshen.

The two teams tied for the area title a year ago, meaning the right to host the area championship was settled on a coin flip, which Zion Chapel won.

“This is a big rivalry game coming up, and it’s even bigger since we lost the area championship on a coin flip last year,” Hughes said.

Hughes said both teams are better than they were a year ago, meaning Thursday’s game could come down to the final at-bats.

“It’s going to come down to pitching and defense,” Hughes said. “We both hit better than we did last year, so it may be that timely pitching that makes the difference.”