WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace's baseball team won a thriller 4-2 to close out Friday's doubleheader against St. Francis at Tom Roy - UPI Park.
The Lancers split with the Cougars, falling 17-4 in the opener.
In the opening game, St. Francis erupted early, and Grace was unable to recover.
The Cougars scored 13 runs in the first two frames, including an 11-run outburst in the second.
Grace played evenly with the Cougars after 1.5 innings, but the damage was already done.
In the bottom of the second, Grace loaded the bases. Jose Ayala and Dalton Cody plated for Grace's first two runs.
In the fifth, Matt Friesema's double drove in a run. Two batters later, Grant Hartley drove in Friesema with an RBI single.
Grace was unable to plate again and had to settle for the defeat.
Bryce Berkemeier was Grace's most effective pitcher, tossing a scoreless and hitless inning of relief.
Stark and Friesema each hit 2 for 4, and Maximo De Leon had 1 hit, 1 run, 1 RBI and 1 walk.
In the second game, De Leon put the Lancers on the board first with a solo home run in the home half of the first inning.
USF matched Grace's output an inning later in the same manner via solo home run.
Both teams were held silent until the Lancers broke the 1-1 draw in the fifth inning.
Josh Cosme led off the frame with a double, and Cody followed with a double of his own to push Grace ahead 2-1. After the runner moved into scoring position, De Leon picked up his second RBI of the game with a single to make it 3-1.
The Cougars cut the deficit in half the following inning, but Grace was ready by adding an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth.
Ryan Stark, the reigning NCCAA Player of the Week, clubbed a home run to give the home team a two-run cushion 4-2.
Hunter Schumacher came in relief of Evan Etchison for the final inning. The graduate student resumed his closer role, picking up his first save since 2023 after missing last season due to injury. Schumacher struck out two batters in a perfect seventh inning.
Evan Etchison did the heavy lifting from the mound. He tossed six innings to earn the win, scattering five hits and two runs in an impressive outing.
De Leon finished 2 for 3 with two RBIs and a run, and Cody was a perfect 3 of 3 from the plate with a run scored and a run driven in.
The Lancers are scheduled to end their series with USF at home on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m.
