INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Despite nearly doubling up No. 24 Marian on hits in the second game, Grace's softball team was unable to secure the upset.

The Lady Lancers (24-21, 17-15 Crossroads League) lost 4-3 in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader. The Knights (35-9, 27-5 CL) also won the opener 13-5.

The Knights' offense proved too much for the Lady Lancers to handle in the opener. Marian spouted off 13 runs on 14 hits, including a pair of home runs.

The teams got off to an even start in the first game with Marian holding a slight 1-0 lead after two innings. Grace had runners in scoring position in each of the first three innings, and the Lady Lancers finally punched through in the third. Samantha Johnson led off the inning with a single and eventually came around to score on an RBI from Clarissa Knight to tie the game.

Marian responded with a six-run outburst in the bottom of the third, notching four hits and benefitting from two fielding errors by Grace to pull ahead 7-1. Grace showed it still had fight with a four-run rally in the fourth. Johnson drove in one run, and Brooke Shell followed her up with a two-run, two-out home run over the center field fence to make the score 7-5.

The Knights ended the game prematurely, however, scoring six unanswered runs over the next two innings to win 13-5 in five innings via the run-rule.

Shell was 2-for-2 with two RBIs, and Ashley Kleinbub was 2-for-2 with a run scored.

The second game saw a number of wasted offensive opportunities for Grace. Despite racking up 10 hits over the first five innings, the Lady Lancers had just one run to show for it. Shell led off the third inning with a single and eventually came around to third on a stolen base. Knight then singled Shell in to score.

Grace had chances to pull away from Marian, stranding nine runners on base through five innings. In the first inning, Johnson was thrown out at home plate. The fourth inning left runners on second and third base. The fifth inning started off with a single and a double, but Grace was again unable to manufacture a run.

In the bottom of the fifth, Marian took the lead 4-1 with a three-run burst. Grace responded with two runs of its own in the sixth. Shell laced a two-run single to the outfield to score Alex Shipley and Brittany Melzoni. But Grace was unable to plate Shell for the game-tying run as the inning ended on a pop out and a double play. Grace went three-up, three-down in the seventh as Marian swept the series.

Overall, Grace outhit Marian 13-7. Knight was a perfect 4-for-4 in the game with a double and an RBI. Shell hit 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a stolen base, and Melzoni was 2-for-3. Shipley started from the mound and tossed five innings, and Allison Franklin pitched a clean sixth inning.

The Lady Lancers wrap up the regular season this week with a pair of home doubleheaders. Grace hosts Spring Arbor on Friday and Indiana Wesleyan on Saturday. Both series start at 3 p.m. at Miller Field. Saturday will also be Senior Day to honor the graduating class of Shell and Chelsea Whitesell.