WINONA LAKE - The Grace College baseball team dropped two games to Bethel Wednesday afternoon at Miller Field. In both games, the Pilots broke away in the sixth inning with a combined 10 runs in those two frames for 9-3 and 14-9 victories.

In the first game, Bethel scored two in the second and two in the third to open up a 4-0 lead. But Grace fought back against the best pitcher in the Mid-Central Conference, John Urbanski. Lincoln Howard singled to start the third and came around to score on a base hit by Chad Newhard.

An inning later, Terry Aukeman walked, Chris Bates doubled and Howard smacked another single to score a run while the other scored on a grounder by Newhard, pulling the Lancers within one at 4-3. Bethel answered with a run in the fifth on a walk and a sacrifice fly before the Pilots broke the game open with four in the sixth inning. Chad Hundall and Allen Hodge delivered run-scoring doubles for the Pilots in that inning.

The second game was a slugfest as the two teams combined for 22 hits and 23 runs. Bethel put up three runs in the top of the first and the Lancers answered back with four in their half of that inning. Bethel tied the score at 4-4 in the top of the second, but the Lancers scored three runs on one hit in the bottom of the inning to regain the lead 7-4.

The Pilots scored two in the third inning to pull within one, and again, Grace added a run in the bottom of the third, giving the Lancers the two-run edge. However, in the fifth, Bethel tied the game with two runs, then went ahead with six runs in the sixth inning to mount a 14-8 lead.

The Lancers tried to start a rally in the bottom of the sixth, but Eric Gonzalez was thrown out at the plate, snuffing the Lancers rally. Howard, who went 6 for 7 on the day, scored the ninth run in the bottom of the seventh for Grace, but Bethel held on for the win.

Grace (3-8, 2-4) will play at Indiana Wesleyan this afternoon, then will leave for a Spring Break trip to Tennessee and North Carolina Saturday.

Game 1

Bethel 022 014 0 - 9 11 2

Grace 001 200 0 -Ê3 7 1

WP - John Urbanski (4-0)

LP - Eric Gonzalez (0-3)

Bethel - Hits: Hundall 3, Riggleman, Hodge, Zartman, Sherwood, Miller, Jenkins, Summe, Cebra. Doubles: Hundall, Hodge, Miller, Jenkins. RBI: Cebra 2, Summe, Miller, Jenkins, Sherwood, Zartman, Hodge, Hundall.

Grace - Hits: Howard 3, Gonzalez, Newhard, Babinski, Bates. Doubles: Bates. RBI: Newhard 2, Howard.

Game 2

Bethel 312 026 0 -Ê14 13 5

Grace 431 000 1 - 9 9 5

WP - Takach

LP - Terry Aukeman (1-2)

Bethel - Hits: Hundall 3, Hodge 2, Zartman 2, Sherwood 2, Miller 2, Feece, Geir. Doubles: Zartman, Sherwood, Miller. RBI: Miller 3, Geir 3, Hudnall 2, Zartman 2, Sherwood 2, Jenkins, Taylor.

Grace - Hits: Howard 3, Gonzalez, Newhard, Walta, Grimm, Babinski, Bates. Doubles: Bailey. RBI: Walta, Grimm, Manes, Abel, Howard, Bates, Babinski. [[In-content Ad]]