WHITE PINE, Tenn. – Grace's baseball team was unable to take a game off St. Xavier in a weekend series in Tennessee.

Grace's offense was quiet in the opening game on Friday, falling 10-2. The Lancers were held to two hits — one by Chris Griffin and Cal Curiel. 

The Cougars had three home runs to help their cause, scoring four runs in the third and five in the seventh.

Grace's early lead slipped away in the second game, which SXU won 9-5.

The teams were nearly identical on offense with SXU tallying 10 hits and Grace with nine, but the Cougars bunched their production well. 

Grace grabbed an early 3-1 lead after two innings. Sam Newkirk had a two-run homer in the first inning to spark the Lancers.

But SXU grabbed the lead for good with a six-run outburst in the fourth. The Cougars benefitted from two walks and an error, seizing a 7-3 lead.

Grace managed to push two more runs across the plate before the end of the game, but the damage was already done.

Newkirk hit 2 for 4 with three RBIs, and Jeff Pawlik had two hits which included a home run.

Saturday's opener was a pitchers' duel with SXU winning 2-0.

The Cougars manufactured a run in the opening inning with just one hit, stealing two bases and scoring on a wild pitch.

The 1-0 lead for SXU proved to be all that the Cougars needed. Grace had one baserunner in the third and fourth innings. In the sixth, Grace had two base runners with a hit batsman and a single, but the potential rally ended with a double play. 

In Grace's final chance in the seventh, the Lancers earned a runner on second and third base with just one out. But the next two batters for Grace struck out, erasing the comeback bid.

Kameron Koch tossed the first 5.2 innings, striking out eight and allowing four hits and two runs.

Griffin, Alex Rich and Josh Cosme had the only hits for the Lancers in the game.

The final game was a 12-4 win for SXU. Grace had 10 hits in the inning but could only translate that to four runs. The Cougars, conversely, turned 14 hits into 12 runs.

SXU also scored all 12 of its runs in just three innings with a four-run third, five-run fourth and three-run seventh.

Rich had the hot bat for Grace, batting 4 for 5 with a double and run scored. Mason Meyer hit 2 for 4 with two solo home runs, Newkirk also had a solo homer, and Curiel hit 2 for 3.

Caleb Farney was Grace's most effective reliever, pitching a clean inning of relief with one strikeout.

The Lancers (5-7) will compete again next weekend in Kokomo, Ind., with a four-game series with Trinity Christian.