MOUNT VERNON, Ohio - Grace's baseball team continued conference play against Mount Vernon Nazarene on Monday afternoon, narrowly falling 10-8 and 4-3.
Grace threatened to take control early.
Maximo De Leon led off the game with a walk and came around to score on a passed ball. After three walks and a single in the inning, the Cougars were able to pitch their way out of a bases loaded jam to limit the damage to one run.
Both teams would alternate runs over the next four innings. Mount Vernon plated two runs in the second to push ahead, and
Jeff Pawlik belted a solo homerun in the fifth to tie the game at two. The Cougars would retake the lead in the sixth, but an RBI single from
Bradyn McIntosh leveled the score again.
Mount Vernon seized control with a five-run sixth inning. Not to be outdone,
Sam Newkirk cleared the bases with a grand slam homerun in the top of the seventh to draw within one at 8-7.
The Cougars, however, plated a pair of insurance runs in the eighth to extend the lead.
Grace looked to put together a rally in the ninth.
Josh Cosme reached on an error, and
John Joyce brought the runner around to score with a two-out RBI single. But the home team was able to cling to a slim lead and close out the game.
Evan Etchison pitched 5.0 innings, giving up three runs on five hits with five strikeouts in a no decision.
Newkirk led the way with four RBIs, a walk and two runs scored. Pawlik added two hits, one RBI and one run.
In the second game of the doubleheader, Grace outhit the Cougars 9-2. Despite the wide margin, Mount Vernon was able to push one more run across to escape with a 4-3 victory.
The Lancers held an early 2-0 lead with a sacrifice fly from McIntosh in the second and an RBI single from Newkirk in the third.
The Cougars flipped the script in the fourth with a three-run homerun to take the lead. They added one more run in the inning to stretch the margin to two.
Grace, no stranger to late-inning heroics, plated a run in the fifth inning with Newkirk's second RBI of the game. In the sixth, Cosme and De Leon each singled to put the tying run in scoring position, but the Cougars were able to end the threat unscathed.
Mason Meyer and
Kyle Reinartz combined to throw a two-hitter with seven strikeouts.
Austin Carr went 2 for 3 with a walk, and Pawlik added two doubles and two runs.
Grant Hartley contributed two walks and a run.
The Lancers will be back home for a four-game series with the Marian Knights at Miller Athletic Complex on March 24-25. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. each day.
