KOKOMO, Ind. - Grace's baseball team finished up the non-conference portion of the schedule with a single nine-inning game against IU Kokomo on Tuesday afternoon, falling 11-3.

The Lancers (7-11) struck first, but the Cougars (15-11) used two multi-run innings to take command.

Maximo De Leon opened the scoring for the day when he touched home on Austin Carr's RBI double in the opening frame. 

IU Kokomo plated the next 11 runs of the game to seize control and hold a ten run advantage after four innings of play.
?Grace extended the game with runs in the fifth and sixth innings to cut the deficit to eight.

Addison Hickman earned a walk and a stolen base to get into scoring position. Situational hitting from Maximo De Leon moved him to third after a single. De Leon then forced the Cougars to make a play by stealing second which allowed Hickman to score from third.

An inning later, Grant Hartley launched his team-leading fifth home run of the year to add a run.

The Lancers held IUK scoreless after the fourth inning with two of those innings being of the three up, three down variety. 

Grace pitched by committee with six players getting work on the afternoon. Joey Springer, Isaac Roberts and Kyle Showley combined to allow two hits and zero runs over the final four frames. The Lancers collected seven strikeouts on the day.

De Leon ended the day 2 for 5 with a stolen base and a run. Hartley had two extra-base hits on the afternoon with a double and a home run. 

The Lancers will resume Crossroads League play with a four-game series at No. 9 Taylor. The doubleheader matchups are scheduled for March 14 and March 16, respectively. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. each day.