Hits continue as Lancers split with Foresters
WINONA LAKE, Ind. – Grace’s baseball team earned a much needed split with Huntington on Thursday afternoon. The Lancers entered the game in a tie for sixth place in the conference standings. By going 1-1 on the afternoon, they are sitting in a good position to find a spot in the conference tournament come May.
Both teams combined for nearly 50 runs over the course of the doubleheader. A beautiful, warm and sunny afternoon made conditions ripe for the ball to carry at Miller Athletic Complex. Ten home runs were recorded during the afternoon.
The Foresters (25-11, 18-6 CL) took an early 9-0 lead in the opener, but the Lancers didn’t back down. They chipped away at the lead to draw within two runs at 9-7 after five innings of play.
Grace was held scoreless through two at-bats, but Grant Hartley belted a solo homerun to put the home team on the board in the third. Josh Cosme produced an RBI single to bring in the second run an inning later. In the fifth, five runs crossed the plate to cut the deficit.
The Lancers (16-17, 8-14 CL) put together some two-out lightning, with all five runs scoring with two outs. The Foresters allowed two walks in the inning and Grace strung together four consecutive singles that each drove in a run. Jeff Pawlik drove in a run, and Cosme added his second of the game. Sam Newkirk and Austin Carr followed with hits of their own.
Huntington responded with four runs in the next inning to build the lead back up.
Ten runs were scored over the final two innings. Seven for the visitors and three for Grace, with the final score in favor of Huntington 20-10.
Grace’s pitchers combined for seven strikeouts in game one.
Hartley, Cosme and Newkirk recorded two hits apiece. Pawlik went 1 for 3 with 3 walks, 2 runs and 1 RBI.
The Lancers were able to block out the memory of game one and take it to the Foresters in the second game of the day. Trailing 4-1 early, a hit parade broke open the game for Grace in the third frame.
The first five batters of the inning reached base. A pair of walks and three straight base hits tied the game at 4. Hartley lined an RBI single to right, then Bradyn McIntosh drove in two more with a bloop single. Mason Meyer hit a towering blast to left for a 3-run homer. The final run of the outburst was credited on a sacrifice fly from Newkirk.
The teams traded runs over the next two innings, with Huntington adding two and Grace with four of its own. Pawlik hit a deep drive to right for a home run, and McIntosh drove in the final two runs of the game in the fifth.
Caleb Davis got the nod to start on the mound and pitched 4.0 innings, scattering six runs and striking out three to earn the win. The bullpen closed out the game with three innings of scoreless relief to secure the 13-6 victory.
McIntosh led the Lancers with 4 RBIs, going 2 for 4. Sean Gannon was 3 for 3 for the game. Mason Meyer added a long ball to go with 3 RBIs and a run scored.
The Lancers and the Foresters will face off once more at Miller Athletic Complex to complete the four-game series on Friday at 1 p.m.