HUNTINGTON, Ind. – Grace College's baseball team dropped two contests to the Huntington Foresters on Monday afternoon.
The first game was tightly contested, but Grace (10-14, 4-8 Crossroads League) would come up just short losing 8-7.
Huntington (10-10, 8-4 CL) took the second game, winning 14-5.
In the first game, a solo home run put the Foresters ahead 1-0 before the Lancers' bats came alive in the top of the second.
Austin Carr and Josh Cosme each singled to get Grace started, and Lucas Slager earned a walk to load the bases. Carr would be the first Lancer to cross the plate after the Huntington pitcher was called for a balk.
Grace got its first lead of the game at 3-1 after Bradyn McIntosh doubled in two runs.
In the third inning Alex Rich picked up his second hit in as many at-bats to get the Lancers started. Carr also reached for the second time and moved Rich to third base.
Rich scored after Huntington was called for a balk for the second time of the game. Cal Curiel drove in Rich as Grace's lead was extended to 5-1.
The Foresters would tie the game in the next half-inning with a grand slam.
The fourth inning went by quietly, but Huntington scored two more runs in the fifth to reclaim the lead at 7-5.
Jeff Pawlik cut the deficit in half after he drove in Slager in the top of the seventh.
Huntington pushed their lead back to two runs in the bottom of the eighth.
Grace got the first two batters on base to start the ninth, but the Lancers could only push across one run to fall by a final score of 8-7.
In the second game, Huntington scored the first two runs in the home half of the first.
Pawlik brought Grace even in the second after his single drove in Sam Newkirk and Slager.
After the Foresters reclaimed a one-run lead, Grace would again knot the score up. Slager doubled to start the fourth inning and eventually crossed the plate to tie the game at 3 following a passed ball.
Huntington's offense exploded for 11 runs over the next two innings, however, and held a commanding 14-3 lead as the game entered the sixth.
Slager and Cwik each picked up an RBI in the sixth but the Lancers couldn't get closer as they dropped game two 14-5.
Pawlik shined for the Lancers with four RBIs on the day.
Grace will next be in action on Friday at 1 p.m. when they start a four-game series against Indiana Wesleyan.
