WINONA LAKE, Ind. – The home finale for Grace's baseball team ended in defeat against Judson on Tuesday.
Both games were tightly contested, but the Lancers fell 3-1 and 10-6 to close out Miller Athletic Complex for the baseball season.
In the opener, strong pitching from Logan Swartzentruber could not overcome a slow offensive day for Grace.
The Lancers (15-28-1) could only muster two hits in the game to fall 3-1. Swartzentruber was sharp from the mound, holding the Eagles (34-14) to three runs and eight hits in seven innings. He struck out three and walked two more.
Grace did not record a hit in the game until the fifth inning with a leadoff double by Jamar Bray.
In the seventh, Grace managed to get on the scoreboard without tallying a hit. Xavier Harris walked, and Rylee Searle came in to pinch run. Searle promptly stole second and came around to score when William Swisher's ground ball was misplayed by the Eagles.
The second game saw Judson jump out to another 3-0 lead. The Eagles hit a three-run home run in the first inning to take the lead for good.
Grace managed to pull a run back in the second inning off an error. Shay Hepler doubled and reached third on a ground ball. With two outs in the inning, Hepler then raced home after Judson's catcher made a throwing error.
In the third inning, Hunter Ackerman belted a solo home run to left field to slash the Eagles' lead to 3-2.
Judson began to pull away over the final three innings, producing seven runs. But Grace showed fight with a big sixth inning.
Sid Elford started Grace's scoring with a pinch-hit double to score a run. One batter later Gavin Bussard launched a three-run home run to make the score 8-6 in Judson's favor.
The Eagles effectively ended the game, however, with two runs in the seventh inning, and Grace was retired 1-2-3 in its final at-bats.
Cameron Maxwell batted 3-for-4 with a double, Hepler was 1-for-2 with two runs scored, and Bussard finished 1-for-2 with three RBIs.
Jacob Hammel pitched four innings as the team's starter, and Derrick Grass, Jake Farley and Kyle Brunner also pitched in relief.
The Lancers will end the regular season on Friday and Saturday with a three-game series at Taylor. Grace will need to win the series to have a chance of qualifying for the Crossroads League Tournament.
