FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Grace's softball team dropped a pair of contests to St. Francis on Saturday afternoon.
The Lancers fell 11-3 in the opener before dropping the nightcap 8-0.
Grace jumped out to an early lead in the first game of the afternoon, plating a run in the opening frame.
Daylie Rickard had a single then stole second to put herself in scoring position.
Molly Jones then singled through the infield which allowed Rickard to score to put Grace ahead 1-0.
The Lancers advantage did not last long though, as USF scored seven runs on seven hits in the bottom of the frame to take complete control of the contest.
Back-to-back singles to start the second inning were not enough to plate another run for Lancers and in the home-half of the frame the Cougars tacked on two more runs.
USF scored twice more in the third inning to race ahead 11-1.
Paige McCorkle had a lead off single in the fourth inning and she was followed by
Sage Ladig who was walked with four consecutive balls. Both players scored thanks to a two-RBI single from
Allie Furches, but it was as close as Grace would get as they fell 11-3.
Grace was out 13-7 in the game while USF committed one error to the Lancers' zero. Furches went 2 for 2 from the plate with a pair of RBIs.
In game two the Lancers struggled to produce offense. The Lancers went without a base runner until the fifth inning.
The Lancers' defense kept it close for the first two innings, limiting the Cougars to one run which was scored on a solo home run in the first inning.
The Lancers retired the second inning in order, but a pair of home runs in the third frame, including a three run shot, grew the Lancers' deficit to 5-0.
The Cougars' advantage grew to eight runs in the bottom of the fourth. Ladig reached first on an error in the fifth frame but was unable to be brought around to score, giving USF the 8-0 win.
The Lancers will return to action on Tuesday when they take on No. 11 Marian. Grace will then return to Coach Phil Dick Field for the final four series of the season.
