Grace College Athletics recently issued the following announcement.
Grace splits series in Indy
Grace and Marian began their baseball doubleheader with a split in Indianapolis on a chilly Saturday afternoon.
The Knights claimed the opener 7-5 before Grace won emphatically 12-2 to earn the critical split.
After Saturday's results, the Lancers (14-21, 8-14 CL) leapfrogged the Knights in the Crossroads League standings for the eighth spot by one game. The top eight teams in the standings earn a spot in the postseason CL Tournament.
The first game was a back-and-forth affair with the Knights scoring in the later innings to pull away.
The Knights (15-19, 7-13 CL) took advantage of a fielding error by Grace in the third inning, scoring three unearned runs to grab a 3-1 lead.
Grace was undaunted, however, pushing across three runs to regain the lead. All three of the Lancers' runs in the fifth and sixth innings came with two outs, including a two-out double by Alex Rich and a two-out single by Jake Cox.
Marian struck back with two runs in both the sixth and seventh frames to seize a 7-4 lead, which was enough for the Knights.
Chris Griffin tried to jumpstart a last-inning rally with a solo home run in the ninth inning, but Grace was unable to pull any closer.
Cox batted 2 for 3 with 2 runs, 1 walk and 1 RBI, and Jeff Pawlik had 1 hit, 1 run, 1 RBI and 1 walk.
The Lancers enjoyed a 10-run rout in the second game. Evan Etchison was sharp on the mound in his start, and the Lancers produced 12 runs on 11 hits.
The game was even at 1-1 with two innings completed, but Grace was about to take control of the game.
The third inning belonged to the Lancers. Austin Carr, Cox and Griffin each singled in a run. Additionally, Lucas Slager had an RBI double, and Patrick Danforth drove in two with a triple as Grace plated seven times in the frame.
The Lancers were not done scoring, however. Grace tacked on four more runs over the next two innings to grab a double-digit lead.
In the fourth inning, Sam Newkirk led off with a single and took advantage of a passed ball and a wild pitch to race home.
In the fifth inning, a two-out, two-run single by Josh Cosme put the Lancers ahead 12-2.
Marian was quiet down the stretch and was held to one hit over the final four innings.
Etchison earned the win, allowing one earned run with seven strikeouts over 5.1 innings of work. Caleb Farney pitched the final 1.2 innings in relief and did not allow a hit or walk in his stint.
Danforth batted 2 for 4 with 2 runs, 3 RBIs and 1 stolen base, and Slager hit 2 for 4 with two runs and a steal.
Cosme reached base safely four times and drove in two runs, and Carr had two hits and two runs.
The Lancers are on the road next week, including a single game on Wednesday at Indiana Tech and a weekend series at St. Francis on Friday and Saturday.
Original source can be found here.
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