Lancers’ postseason surge continues
UPLAND, Ind. – Grace’s baseball team continued its Cinderella run through the Crossroads League Tournament, upsetting the hosts Taylor 6-3 on Saturday.
The Lancers (16-25) won behind timely hitting as well as a sharp pitching performance by Logan Swartzentruber and David Anderson.
With the win, Grace will take on Marian on Monday at 4 p.m. Marian is the only other undefeated team in the double-elimination tournament.
With a win over Marian, Grace would play for the tournament championship on Tuesday. With a loss, the Lancers would still have a chance by battling through the losers’ bracket.
Swartzentruber threw a memorable outing as the starter. He went seven innings from the mound, allowing just three runs with a pair of strikeouts to give Grace a chance.
Taylor opened up a 2-0 lead early in the contest in front of its home crowd. The Trojans scored with two outs in the first inning and hit a solo homer in the third.
But the Lancers had a big run up their sleeves. Grace seized momentum with a three-run fifth inning.
Jacob Sapp and RJ Snyder reached base to start the inning, and Anderson drove in the Lancers’ first run with an RBI single. Sam Newkirk then brought in two more runs on the next at-bat with a well-placed single.
Taylor managed to tie the game in the seventh with an RBI single.
With the scored knotted 3-3 in the eighth, Grace pulled ahead. The Lancers loaded the bases thanks to a single, an error and a walk.
Mitchell Enyart then laced a two-run single to the outfield, putting Grace on top 5-3 and forcing Taylor to go to its bullpen again.
Anderson came in to pitch in the bottom of the eighth and shut Taylor down 1-2-3, and Grace added an insurance run in the top of the ninth. Xavier Harris singled with two outs to plate Snyder for a 6-3 edge.
Anderson pitched another perfect inning in relief during the ninth, striking out one and obtaining a pair of fly outs to end the game.
Anderson picked up the save with two clean innings of relief, and he also batted 2 for 4 with 1 run, 1 stolen base and 1 RBI from the leadoff position.
Sapp hit 2 for 4, and Newkirk was 2 for 5 with a run and two RBIs. Harris scored and drove in a run, and Enyart was 1 for 4 with a pair of RBIs.
Grace’s 16 wins are the second-most since 2012.