SPRING ARBOR, Mich. - Solid pitching from
Evan Etchison helped Grace's baseball team earn a much needed split with Spring Arbor on Monday afternoon.
The Lancers made a furious comeback in the opener that fell just short, falling 7-6. The second game of the twinbill was an absolute gem from Etchison, who pitched a three-hit shutout to end the day with a 5-0 win.
The visitors struck first with a run in their first at-bat.
Maximo De Leon led off the game by earning a hit by pitch. The speedster picked up two stolen bases before crossing the plate on a
Sam Newkirk RBI double.
Later in the third, Grace tacked on a pair of runs from a two-RBI double from
Josh Cosme to increase the lead to three.
After plating runs early, the bats went silent through the middle innings. The Cougars responded with seven unanswered runs to jump ahead 7-3 after seven innings of play.
The Lancers looked to jumpstart a late rally in the eighth. Cosme singled to start, and Newkirk smacked his second double of the game to get both into scoring position. An error by the third baseman allowed one run to score.
Mason Meyer clubbed a double to score a pair to put the pressure on the Cougars. But that is where the score remained as Spring Arbor was able to get the final outs needed to sneak away with the 7-6 victory.
Cosme paced Grace with a 3 for 5 game, including 2 RBIs. Meyer and Newkirk each added two hits and had three RBIs between them.
The second game of the day was highlighted by an impressive outing on the mound. Etchison faced only four batters over the minimum. He scattered three hits and one walk in the complete game shutout. He had four 1-2-3 innings en route to his third win of the season.
The game went scoreless through four innings until the Lancers broke open the game with three runs in the fifth. A fielding error and four base hits in a row allowed Meyer,
Bradyn McIntosh and
Raef Biddle to come around to score.
An inning later, the margin jumped to five when control issues by Cougar pitchers led to two hit by pitches and two wild pitches to move runners into scoring position.
Grant Hartley took advantage and dropped in a two-RBI single to right to give Grace all the cushion it would need.
Hartley led the way with two hits and two RBIs. De Leon, McIntosh and
Jeff Pawlik each added a hit and an RBI.
The Lancers currently occupy seventh place in the Crossroads League standings with four games to play in the regular season.
Grace will kick off the final homestand with a four-game series against the team in blue on Friday and Saturday. As part of the final series, the Lancers will host Senior Day on Saturday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. both days.
