Lancers Earn Two More All-Americans At NAIA
March 9, 2020 at 12:09 a.m.
Lancers Earn Two More All-Americans At NAIA
By Josh Neuhart-
The Lancers had two more events earn All-American status on the final day.
Isaac Beatty placed eighth in the 1,000-meter race, crossing the finish line in 2:31.78.
The women’s 4x400 relay also nabbed an All-American finish. Suzanne Sickafoose, Ashley Stoltzfus, Nordia Campbell and Julia Malson ran 3:50.87 to place fifth in the nation. The group marked the first female indoor All-Americans in Grace’s history.
Prior to this week’s indoor championships, Grace had just one NAIA Indoor All-American in program history (Daniel Njenga, mile, 2001).
But in this week alone, the Lancers had four events achieve All-American status, including Isaac Brown (high jump) and the men’s 4x800 relay on Friday (Beatty, Luke Smith, Brady Willard, Kyle Smith).
“This was an incredible week for Grace track and field. After having one indoor All-American in school history, we placed two relays and two individuals this week,” said Grace head coach Jeff Raymond. “We are excited and hope to carry this into the outdoor season.”
The outdoor season will officially kick off March 28 with the Indiana Wesleyan Polar Bear Meet.
Grace Softball?Upsets Webber
GULF SHORES, Ala. - On Saturday, Grace College’s softball team played a pair of teams receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25 Poll.
The Lady Lancers performed well in each, losing 5-4 in 10 innings to Martin Methodist in the opener. But Grace rebounded with a 6-3 win over Webber International.
Webber International entered Saturday’s nightcap with a 15-3 record. The Warriors already own wins this season over Crossroads League foes Taylor, No. 11 Indiana Wesleyan and Mt. Vernon Nazarene.
But the Lady Lancers (4-8) were solid defensively to record the upset. Jeri Ellis starred on the mound. The freshman pitched the full seven innings, allowing six hits and two earned runs with one walk. Ellis also hit 2 for 3 with a run and an RBI to help her own cause.
Kaitlyn Heffner led off Saturday’s game with a single and was sacrificed over to second base. Jessica Kaurich then hit a single to bring in Heffner for an early 1-0 lead.
Webber scored two in the second, but Grace added two more in the top of the third to regain the lead 3-2. Heffner led off the inning with another single, and she eventually stole home, and Laikyn Lowe drove in Madison Howard.
The Warriors managed to push a run across in the fifth with two outs, tying the game at 3-3. But that proved to be their final run of the night.
In the top of the sixth, Grace grabbed momentum for good with three runs — all scored with two outs.
Olivia Scarbrough was hit by a pitch to start the inning, but she was still on second with two outs. Ellis then stepped up to the plate, producing the go-ahead hit with an RBI single.
Kaurich followed up Ellis’s hit with another single, and Britney Young brought them both in to score with a two-run double.
Webber could not advance a runner past first base in the final two innings thanks to Ellis’s pitching and clean defensive work by Grace.
Heffner was 2-for-4 at the plate with two runs and a stolen base, Young was2-for-4 with two RBIs, and Kaurich finished 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.
Carly Ruiz notched two hits, and Lowe went 1-for-2 with two walks and a run driven in.
Ellis had a busy evening, throwing 6-1/3 more innings earlier in the day against Martin Methodist.
Grace led for the majority of the game but squandered two golden chances to win.
The Lady Lancers led 2-1 going into the bottom of the seventh, but the Redhawks rallied to score and send the game to extra innings.
Grace had the bases loaded in the eighth but failed to score.
In the ninth, Grace did score twice thanks to back-to-back RBIs from Ellis and Young. But Martin Methodist rallied again, benefitting from a Grace error to plate two runs and survive.
The Redhawks clinched the game in the bottom of the 10th inning with a walk-off single to win 5-4.
Kaurich erupted at the plate, going 4-for-5 with an RBI, and Lowe was 3 for 4 with an RBI. Ruiz and Young both contributed two hits.
Dori Knight pitched three solid innings of relief, striking out three and allowing one unearned run to score.
The Lady Lancers end their Alabama trip with two games today against LSU-Alexandria and Faulkner.Lancers Earn Two More All-Americans At NAIA
The Lancers had two more events earn All-American status on the final day.
Isaac Beatty placed eighth in the 1,000-meter race, crossing the finish line in 2:31.78.
The women’s 4x400 relay also nabbed an All-American finish. Suzanne Sickafoose, Ashley Stoltzfus, Nordia Campbell and Julia Malson ran 3:50.87 to place fifth in the nation. The group marked the first female indoor All-Americans in Grace’s history.
Prior to this week’s indoor championships, Grace had just one NAIA Indoor All-American in program history (Daniel Njenga, mile, 2001).
But in this week alone, the Lancers had four events achieve All-American status, including Isaac Brown (high jump) and the men’s 4x800 relay on Friday (Beatty, Luke Smith, Brady Willard, Kyle Smith).
“This was an incredible week for Grace track and field. After having one indoor All-American in school history, we placed two relays and two individuals this week,” said Grace head coach Jeff Raymond. “We are excited and hope to carry this into the outdoor season.”
The outdoor season will officially kick off March 28 with the Indiana Wesleyan Polar Bear Meet.
Grace Softball?Upsets Webber
GULF SHORES, Ala. - On Saturday, Grace College’s softball team played a pair of teams receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25 Poll.
The Lady Lancers performed well in each, losing 5-4 in 10 innings to Martin Methodist in the opener. But Grace rebounded with a 6-3 win over Webber International.
Webber International entered Saturday’s nightcap with a 15-3 record. The Warriors already own wins this season over Crossroads League foes Taylor, No. 11 Indiana Wesleyan and Mt. Vernon Nazarene.
But the Lady Lancers (4-8) were solid defensively to record the upset. Jeri Ellis starred on the mound. The freshman pitched the full seven innings, allowing six hits and two earned runs with one walk. Ellis also hit 2 for 3 with a run and an RBI to help her own cause.
Kaitlyn Heffner led off Saturday’s game with a single and was sacrificed over to second base. Jessica Kaurich then hit a single to bring in Heffner for an early 1-0 lead.
Webber scored two in the second, but Grace added two more in the top of the third to regain the lead 3-2. Heffner led off the inning with another single, and she eventually stole home, and Laikyn Lowe drove in Madison Howard.
The Warriors managed to push a run across in the fifth with two outs, tying the game at 3-3. But that proved to be their final run of the night.
In the top of the sixth, Grace grabbed momentum for good with three runs — all scored with two outs.
Olivia Scarbrough was hit by a pitch to start the inning, but she was still on second with two outs. Ellis then stepped up to the plate, producing the go-ahead hit with an RBI single.
Kaurich followed up Ellis’s hit with another single, and Britney Young brought them both in to score with a two-run double.
Webber could not advance a runner past first base in the final two innings thanks to Ellis’s pitching and clean defensive work by Grace.
Heffner was 2-for-4 at the plate with two runs and a stolen base, Young was2-for-4 with two RBIs, and Kaurich finished 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.
Carly Ruiz notched two hits, and Lowe went 1-for-2 with two walks and a run driven in.
Ellis had a busy evening, throwing 6-1/3 more innings earlier in the day against Martin Methodist.
Grace led for the majority of the game but squandered two golden chances to win.
The Lady Lancers led 2-1 going into the bottom of the seventh, but the Redhawks rallied to score and send the game to extra innings.
Grace had the bases loaded in the eighth but failed to score.
In the ninth, Grace did score twice thanks to back-to-back RBIs from Ellis and Young. But Martin Methodist rallied again, benefitting from a Grace error to plate two runs and survive.
The Redhawks clinched the game in the bottom of the 10th inning with a walk-off single to win 5-4.
Kaurich erupted at the plate, going 4-for-5 with an RBI, and Lowe was 3 for 4 with an RBI. Ruiz and Young both contributed two hits.
Dori Knight pitched three solid innings of relief, striking out three and allowing one unearned run to score.
The Lady Lancers end their Alabama trip with two games today against LSU-Alexandria and Faulkner.Lancers Earn Two More All-Americans At NAIA
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