WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace's baseball team used nine free passes and timely hitting to pick up a split against Spring Arbor on Saturday afternoon at Tom Roy - UPI Park.
The Lancers started off the day with a convincing 11-1 victory before falling in a close contest 6-2 in the nightcap.
Grace scored early and often to get out to a 6-0 lead after three frames in game one.
The home team took advantage of two walks in the four run second inning. Pat Danforth added a single between the two walks to load the bases.
Maximo De Leon cleared the bases with a bloop double that landed just inside the foul line. He later scored after an errant throw on his stolen base attempt.
The Lancers added two more in the next at-bat. Once again walks proved costly for the Cougars as they allowed four more in the inning.
Ryan Stark hit into a fielder's choice allowing
Austin Carr to score. Later with the bases full,
Addison Hickman worked a walk to force in another run.
Grace continued to add to the run total with runs in the fifth, seventh and eighth innings.
Two came across in the fifth after two singles and a walk loaded the bases. Hickman grounded into a fielder's choice that was helped by a throwing error to score a pair.
In the seventh,
Grant Hartley and Danforth provided some pop with each going deep with solo home runs.
The final run of the game came in the eighth inning. Leading by nine runs,
Matt Friesema singled and later advanced home on a wild pitch. The game ended once he slid in head first and touched home plate, leading to a 10-run rule victory.
SAU had a couple of chances to score, but
Steven Hernandez was stingy on the mound. He allowed one run over 5.2 innings pitched. He fanned the last batter of the inning on four separate occasions, while collecting six Ks overall.
Owen Kirchenstein pitched the final 2.1 innings of relief, allowing just one hit and one walk in his time on the bump.
Ryan Stark and Danforth each had two hits. De Leon contributed 1 hit, 3 RBIs, 1 run and 1 walk.
The second game of the day was tied after four innings. Grace held a one-run lead two different times, but the Cougars kept pace until they edged by in the late innings.
The Lancers scored on the first pitch of their half of the first when De Leon launched a solo shot to left.
Two innings later, De Leon nearly added a second home run, but settled for a triple that caromed off the wall. He scored on a ground ball that tipped off the pitcher's glove two batters later.
After tying the game 2-2 in the fourth, the Cougars jumped ahead with two runs in the fifth and two more insurance runs in the seventh.
The Lancers couldn't get much going offensively, finishing the game with three hits. Only three runners reached base after the third inning.
De Leon finished the game 2 for 3 with two runs and one RBI. Carr supplied a walk and an RBI.
Grace will finish up its series against Goshen with a single seven-inning game on Tuesday April 9. The game will kick off at 4 p.m. from Tom Roy - UPI Park.
