Lancers Split with Saints
WESTFIELD, Ind. – Grace’s baseball team opened up its second series of the season with a doubleheader against Aquinas at Grand Park Sport Campus on Saturday.
The Lancers (4-1) used the long ball to get past Aquinas (1-1) 9-7 in game one, and a 10-9 comeback win by the Saints in game two split the twin bill.
Aquinas tallied first, but the Lancers responded quickly to put up four runs of their own to take the early lead after one inning. Jeff Pawlik drove a two-RBI double to center to score Patrick Danforth and Maximo De Leon. Later in the inning, RBI singles from Sam Newkirk and Bradyn McIntosh pushed the lead to three.
Evan Etchison started the game on the mound, grinding out 2.2 innings before giving way. Caleb Davis, who was credited with the victory, recorded a strikeout and a walk in 1.1 innings of relief.
After back-and-forth scoring, the game was tied at five in the third. John Joyce broke open the game with a two-run homerun to right field to give the Lancers a 7-5 cushion. An inning later, Mason Meyer added an insurance run with a big fly of his own.
Aquinas moved within a run in the fifth, before Joyce added his second long ball of the game with a solo shot in the bottom of the inning.
Hunter Schumacher came out of the bullpen to pitch the final two innings to nail down the victory, earning his second save of the season. The senior tied the mark for career saves with his sixth.
Joyce had a productive game at the plate going 2 for 2 with 2 homeruns, a walk, 3 RBIs and 2 runs scored.
Josh Cosme was 2 for 4 with one extra base hit; Sam Newkirk added 3 hits, 2 RBIs and 1 run.
Game two got off to a hot start with the Lancers scoring seven runs in the first two innings. Austin Carr belted a three-run homer to drive in Pawlik and Newkirk in the first. In the second, Pawlik reached on an error that allowed a pair of baserunners to scamper home to make it 7-1.
Aquinas slowly chipped away at the lead, taking advantage of defensive miscues and free passes via the walk to bring the score close.
Carr launched his second home run of the game to increase the lead back to two. The Saints, however, were not to be denied, scoring at least one run in five consecutive innings to even the scoreline at 8-8 in the seventh.
Grace added a run on a Grant Hartley RBI double to score Pawlik in the bottom of the seventh. That is all of the offense the Lancers could muster as their bats were kept at bay over the final three innings.
The go-ahead run for the Saints came in the top of the 10th inning after a leadoff triple and RBI single to cap off the scoring. A 1-2-3 bottom of the tenth ended the game.
Hartley contributed 3 hits and 2 RBIs, and Carr, with his two roundtrippers, added 4 RBIs and 2 runs. Pawlik added 3 runs, 1 RBI and 1 stolen base in game two.