FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Extra innings were needed, but Grace's softball team got the job done. The Lady Lancers swept St. Francis on Friday to secure the first Crossroads League wins of the season.

Grace won the opener 11-4 thanks to an offensive showcase, and the Lady Lancers (9-8, 2-2 CL) rallied to win 8-5 in eight innings of the second game.

The first game was highlighted by Grace's offensive prowess. The Lady Lancers outhit the Cougars 17-8 in the contest.

St. Francis scored its four runs over the first four innings and led 4-3. But Grace took control of the game in the fifth with a three-run outburst. Alex Shipley provided a two-out, two-run single in the inning.

Grace added two more runs from Brooke Shell and Clarissa Knight in the sixth and three more runs in the seventh. Shipley and Shell doubled in the inning, and Knight tripled.

Knight was a perfect 5-of-5 from the plate, scoring three runs with three RBIs. She had two triples and a double. Shell batted 4-for-5 from the leadoff position with three runs and a stolen base. Shipley drove in three runs with three hits, and Ashley Kleinbub echoed Shipley's performance.

Chandler Elliott earned the complete-game victory from the mound, allowing eight hits and zero walks in seven innings.

In the second game, Grace needed a late-game rally to avoid a sweep with the Cougars. St. Francis jumped out to a 5-0 lead and plated three runs in the fifth.

But Grace tied the game with five runs of its own in the top of the sixth. Knight led off the inning with a double, and Hannah Adams drove her in with another double. Shipley drove in a run with a single, and Samantha Johnson drove in another. Morgan Hutcheson then produced the game-tying swing with two outs, singling to score Johnson and Shipley.

Allison Franklin was electric from the mound, coming in relief to blank the Cougars for the final three innings. She notched a strikeout for seven of the nine outs she pitched.

After neither team could win the game in the seventh, the Lady Lancers came through in the eighth. Shell led off the inning with a walk, and she scampered to third base on a single from Hutcheson. Elliott then lofted a sacrifice fly to left field to allow Shell to scamper home with the game-winning run.

Franklin took care of the rest from the mound. Although the Cougars moved a baserunner to third base with one out in the bottom of the eighth, Franklin pitched her way out of the jam with a fly ball and a strikeout.

Adams finished 3-for-5, and Hutcheson was 2-for-5.

The Lady Lancers' next doubleheader is at Goshen on Saturday. Grace will also have three home series next week.