Grace slips on the road to Goshen
GOSHEN, Ind. – Grace’s softball team came up short in a doubleheader on Tuesday at Crossroads League foe Goshen.
The Maple Leafs kept Grace’s offense off-balance at the plate, and the Lady Lancers lost 6-0 and 4-2.
In the opening game, Goshen managed to open the scoring early with a two-run double in the first. The Maple Leafs (10-17, 4-7 CL) also scored on a two-out error in the second inning to take an early 3-0 advantage.
In the fourth inning, a leadoff home run from Goshen pushed the lead to 4-0.
The Maple Leafs threatened again in the fifth inning, putting runners on second and third base with nobody out. Erin Lawhon escaped the threat from the mound, however, forcing two infield pop outs and a strikeout to end the inning.
The Lady Lancers (7-18, 3-10 CL) were unable to get their bats going in the first game, despite putting together a scoring threat in the sixth inning. With two outs, Morgan Tapscott singled and Natalie Klingberg followed with a double to put a pair of runners in scoring position. But Goshen squandered the effort by forcing a groundout back to the pitcher.
Goshen added two insurances run in the sixth inning to extend their lead to 6-0.
Klingberg led the Lady Lancers offensively in game one, going 2 for 3 with a double. Britney Young also went 1 for 2 with a pinch-hit single in the fifth inning.
The second game resulted in a pitchers’ duel. One early mistake seemed to doom the Lady Lancers.
The Maple Leafs were able to grab an early 2-0 lead on a 2-run home run in the second inning.
In the third frame, Klingberg teamed up with Bethany Gardner to turn a double play and erase a potential run by the Maple Leafs.
Young drove in two runs with a double off the wall in left-centerfield, plating Olivia Scarbrough and Michaela Lee to tie the game in the fifth inning. Young tallied her fifth multi-RBI game of the season and adds to her team leading RBI total, finishing the day with 21 on the season.
Goshen reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the fifth; the Maple Leafs tacked on a pair of runs with a double and a wild pitch.
Down to their final out, the Lady Lancers continued to battle. Scarbrough hit a 2-out single down the left field line, but it was not enough as Grace dropped the second game 4-2.
Heim tossed her fifth complete game of the season in the loss. She struck out five batters and allowed five hits from the mound.
Scarbrough hit 1 for 3 with a run scored, and Young was 1 for 3 with two RBIs.
The Lady Lancers will be back in action tomorrow as they head to Marion, Ind., to take on No. 11 Indiana Wesleyan.
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