INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Grace's softball team came close in two near-upsets of No. 4 Marian on Wednesday.

The Lady Lancers (18-19, 11-11 Crossroads League) dropped a pair of two-run games, falling 3-1 and 7-5 on the road.

The game started slowly between the sides. In the third inning, Olivia Scarbrough singled and was bunted over to second base with one out. The next two batters for Grace connected at the plate well, but both were line drive outs to the infield to eliminate an early threat.

Marian made Grace pay in the bottom of the third, hitting a two-run triple and another single to jump on top 3-0.

Grace had a runner on second base in the fourth (Emily Bobb) and fifth (Michaela Lee) innings, but each time the Lady Lancers were unable to produce a run-scoring hit.

In the sixth, Grace finally plated. Abby Mozingo led the inning off with a double and was bunted over to third. Clarissa Knight then executed a squeeze bunt to perfection to score Mozingo for the Lady Lancers' first run.

But Grace was unable to string together enough runs in the end, falling 3-1. The Lady Lancers had only four hits in the game, two from the bat of Scarbrough. Bobb had 1 hit, 1 walk and 1 stolen base, and Mozingo was 1-for-3 with a run.

Erin Lawhon pitched a gem, yielding just five hits and three runs against the Knights.

The second game had much more action compared to the first. After scoring three runs during the entirety of the first game, the Knights (29-1, 20-0 CL) upped that with a four-run first inning to start game two.

Marian scored again to take a 5-0 lead before Grace rallied in the third. The Lady Lancers quickly stocked baserunners in the inning, plating twice off bases-loaded walks and once off a ground ball by Ashley Kleinbub to cut Marian's cushion to 5-3.

In the fourth, the Knights scored two more runs to pull ahead by four.

Grace did its best to rally again. In the fifth, Mozingo led off with a single and eventually scored off an RBI from Kleinbub. 

In the sixth, Morgan Tapscott produced a timely single to bring in Marian Roman. But Grace left two runners on to end the inning, and the Lady Lancers were unable to get a hit for the remainder of the game.

Hannah Herbster came in to pitch in the second inning and was strong in relief. She allowed three runs in five innings with four hits.

Kleinbub was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs, and Mozingo finished 2-for-4 with two runs.

The Lady Lancers end the week with a pair of home doubleheaders. Grace hosts Bethel on Friday at 3 p.m. and Spring Arbor on Saturday.