WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace's baseball team was one out away from sealing the victory in the opening game of the four-game series against Mount Vernon on Monday afternoon. The home team held a lead in the final inning, but a pair of defensive miscues opened the door for the Cougars (10-6, 6-0 CL) to steal game one 9-7.

After the heartbreak in the opener, the Lancers (7-10, 1-5 CL) dropped the nightcap of the doubleheader 13-5 in windy conditions.

The first game was very much a back-and-forth tilt with neither team gaining much separation. 

The game remained scoreless into the bottom of the second frame, before Grace manufactured the first run of the game.

Grant Hartley led off the inning with a double to get into scoring position. With one out, Ryan Stark and Cayden Calloway hit consecutive singles to bring home Hartley. 

The teams traded runs over the next two innings with the game deadlocked at two after four innings.

Maximo De Leon added a single and a stolen base to give Austin Carr the opportunity to drive him home with an RBI single.

MVNU jumped ahead with a pair of runs to start the fifth, but the Lancers regained the lead with three runs an inning later.

Matt Friesema opened the frame with a single and scored on Keenan LeBlanc's RBI single up the middle. Later, pinch-hitter Steen Bellerjeau hit a no-doubt home run to move his team ahead by one. His towering blast landed in the trees well beyond the left field fence. 

The Lancers tacked on insurance runs in the seventh and eighth innings to head into the final frame with a 7-5 advantage. Carr was responsible for one of the runs with a solo shot to left.

Down to their last out, Mount Vernon benefited from two miscues to turn the game on its head. In the inning, the Cougars plated four unearned runs to shock the home team and sneak away with the win 9-7.

De Leon went 2 for 5 with a stolen base and a run. Carr added two hits with two RBIs, a walk and a run. Bellerjeau contributed two RBIs; LeBlanc finished the game with two hits, two runs and an RBI.

Grace's pitching staff combined for 15 strikeouts in the game.

Game two of the day was low-scoring through four innings, but the Cougars scored 11 runs over the final three innings to put the game out of reach 13-5.

Grace couldn't find much offense in the first four innings. MVNU pitching kept the bats at bay, allowing just one hit in that span. 

The Lancers ran into trouble in the fifth as the visitors broke open the game with four runs. The following inning saw four more runs come across and the Cougars taking a commanding 10-0 lead. 

The bats warmed up in the sixth, but it was not enough. De Leon singled and Sean Gannon was hit by a pitch to get aboard. Calloway deposited a three-run home run over the fence to put Grace on the board. Matt Friesema extended the inning with a walk and a stolen base to allow Mason Meyer to bring him across with an RBI single. 

De Leon concluded the scoring in final inning after he earned a hit by pitch which was followed by an RBI double from Gannon.

Meyer went 2 for 2 with an RBI. Five others recorded at least one hit with Calloway collecting three RBIs. 

Evan Etchison pitched 4.1 innings with six strikeouts, putting him just two away from 200 career Ks.

Grace will head to IU Kokomo for a single nine-inning game on Tuesday before heading to Taylor for a four-game series beginning on March 14 at 1 p.m.