GOSHEN, Ind. – Grace's softball team took to the road for a pivotal Crossroads League doubleheader at Goshen on Friday.
The Lady Lancers (25-19, 16-10 Crossroads League) won both games of the doubleheaders by an identical score of 7-6. The wins keep Grace's hot streak alive as the Lady Lancers have now won 10 of their last 12 games.
In game one, the Lady Lancers stuck for four runs in the top of the first. The first three Lady Lancers reached based, and the inning was highlighted by a two run double courtesy of Kyleigh Garner.
The Maple Leafs (6-35, 4-22 Crossroads League) would not go away quietly as they responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the first.
With a 5-4 lead in the fifth, the Lady Lancers would tack on two more runs, which proved to be the difference. Sam Heim notched a two run single to extend Grace's lead. Grace would ultimately survive a Goshen rally late.
For Grace, game one was highlighted by a 5-for-5 performance by Heim. She also added two runs and two RBIs. Garner added three hits, as did Elaina McClellan. Chandler Elliott bolstered Grace's pitching by pitching the final six plus frames.
In game two, Ashley Kleinbub got Grace on the board by sending one over the fence for a solo home run to lead off the top of the second inning. But it was Goshen who got out to a big lead courtesy of five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning.
The Lady Lancers responded in a big way. After plating one run in the fifth inning to trim the Goshen lead, Grace's bats came alive by plating three runs in the sixth inning followed by scoring the two game winning runs in the seventh.
The sixth inning was highlighted by a two run single by Kati Gregory. The Lady Lancers sent seven different batters to the plate in the inning. In the seventh, the Lady Lancers scored the two game winning runs thanks to an approach that saw Grace put runners on, and ultimately get them over by putting the ball in play.
Grace's game two victory was highlighted by multi-hit efforts by Clarissa Knight and Kleinbub. Gregory also notched two RBIs. On the pitching front, Amanda Bowman got the victory. She yielded zero runs on just one hit in three solid innings of relief work.
With this sweep, Grace Softball has clinched their spot in the Crossroads League tournament.
The Lady Lancers will hit the road once again on Saturday to face the Wildcats of Indiana Wesleyan. The start time is scheduled for 1 PM.