Grace College Athletics recently issued the following announcement.
Grace grabs split with Pilots
Grace's baseball team took one of two games against Bethel in Crossroads League play on Friday.
The Lancers won the opener 9-4, and Bethel ended the day with a 13-3 victory.
The Lancers and Pilots will conclude their series on Saturday with a 10 a.m. doubleheader in Mishawaka. Grace will then return home on Monday for a 1 p.m. doubleheader against Indiana Wesleyan.
Grace took the opener, leading for nearly the entire nine-inning affair. The Pilots (11-21, 5-11 CL) led 3-1 after one inning, but Grace took control of the game with a big second inning.
The Lancers (12-17, 6-10 CL) plated five times in the frame, including runs from Lucas Slager, Sam Newkirk, Jake Cox, Patrick Danforth and Jeff Pawlik.
Grace's 6-3 lead held through six innings. The Pilots plated one run in the top of the seventh, but the Lancers responded in the bottom of the inning.
Alex Rich started the scoring with an RBI single, and Austin Carr followed with an RBI of his own. Slager drove in Grace's third run of the inning, increasing the Lancers' lead to 9-4.
Bethel was unable to respond, allowing the Lancers to secure the opening victory.
Bret Wilhelmi picked up the win from the mound, starting and going 6.1 innings. Hunter Schumacher tossed the final 2.2 innings in relief to earn the win; he did not allow a run and struck out four in a strong stint.
Danforth hit 3 for 5 with two runs and three stolen bases, Carr was 1 for 2 with three RBIs, and Slager and Rich had two hits apiece.
In the second game, the Pilots used outbursts in the middle innings to pull away from Grace.
The contest was even at 2-2 after three innings were completed.
But the Pilots erupted for 11 runs over the next two innings to seize control of the game for good. Grace could not muster a response after falling behind by double digits.
Zach Platt had Grace's best performance from the bullpen. He threw two scoreless innings of relief, allowing one hit with no walks.
Rich hit 2 for 4 with a double and a run. Colin Carr hit 1 for 1 while entering the game off the bench.
Chris Griffin was 1 for 3 with an RBI, Danforth was 1 for 3 with a run scored, and Slager was also 1 for 3.
Original source can be found here.
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