Historic Day Propels Grace To Split With Bethel
April 30, 2023 at 8:14 p.m.
Historic Day Propels Grace To Split With Bethel
By Adam Basinger-
The Lancers (21-26, 13-23 CL) clinched the No.7 spot in the Crossroads League tournament with a win in the first game of the doubleheader against Bethel. With the decisive 6-3 win, Grace notched its 21st win of the season, tying the record for most wins in a season. Not only did it tie the overall wins record, it also marked the most conference wins in a season with 13.
The Pilots (19-29, 12-24 CL) struck first with two runs in the opening frame. The Lancers rebutted with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning when Maximo De Leon came around to score after a lead off single to make it 2-1.
The next runs came in the third inning when Grace stormed back to take the lead 4-2. De Leon led off with another single to get the rally started. He picked up a stolen base before Jeff Pawlik reached with a walk. Two batters later, Austin Carr ripped a double to the gap to plate both baserunners. An RBI single from Grant Hartley capped off the three-run inning.
The Lancers tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the seventh inning. Josh Cosme slapped a double to start the inning. Sam Newkirk followed with a towering drive over the scoreboard to push the lead to four after seven completed innings.
The Pilots clawed back a run in the eighth to cut the deficit, but starter Evan Etchison pitched his way out of the jam to maintain the 6-3 advantage.
Hunter Schumacher took over for Etchison in the ninth inning to record the save, his sixth of the season.
After allowing two runs in the first, Etchison settled in to throw six consecutive scoreless innings until he allowed a run in the eighth. He collected seven strikeouts on the day, which moved him into sole possession of second place in the career strikeouts category.
Grace combined for 12 hits in the game, with three hits apiece from De Leon and Carr. Newkirk added 3 RBIs and a run.
The back end of the doubleheader was an eventful one. The game featured two broken records, 29 combined runs and a long weather delay.
The Lancers jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first. De Leon singled to lead off the game and promptly stole second. His stolen base was number 29 of the season, which broke a 56-year old record set by Larry Smithwick in 1967. Pawlik and Newkirk later scored the first two runs of the game on Carr's single. Hartley followed with a single to plate another run.
Newkirk belted his second home run of the day with a solo shot in the third to put the Lancers up 4-0 after three.
Grace ran into trouble in the fourth when the Pilots put up a crooked number to break open the game with nine runs in the inning. The lead didn't last long as the Lancers responded with six runs in the bottom of the inning.
John Joyce put a jolt into one for a solo home run. The next five runs came with two outs. Pawlik and Cosme walked and both scored on the dropped fly ball off the bat of Newkirk. Another walk was followed by a big fly from Hartley for a three-run blast to retake the lead 10-9.
In the top of the sixth, the Pilots took advantage of two hit by pitches to manufacture a run to tie the game at 10. Shortly after the tying run crossed the plate, the game was sent into a lengthy weather delay. When play resumed, Bethel broke the deadlock with three more runs.
The Lancers didn't back down as they scored three runs and had the tying run on third base with two outs. Five consecutive batters reached base, bringing home three runs with RBIs from Joyce, De Leon and Cosme.
After ending the threat in the bottom of the sixth, Bethel put up three runs in the seventh to put the game out of reach, taking the finale 16-13.
Five batters recorded two hits. Hartley led the way with four RBIs, followed by three from Newkirk and two from Joyce. Carr added 3 runs, an RBI and a walk.
The Lancers will prepare for the conference tournament hosted by Huntington May 3-8. As the No. 7 seed, Grace will square off against No. 6 seed Spring Arbor in the opening round on Wednesday at 12 p.m.
Women’s Golf Tackles Trine Spring Classic
ANGOLA - Grace College’s women’s golf team finished up the 2022-23 regular season at the Trine Spring Classic.
The Lady Lancers “B” squad took second place in the tournament with a team score of 347. The tournament marked the end of the careers of Brittney Klotz and Abby Slabaugh who will graduate next week.
“This was a special day,” said Grace head coach Denny Duncan. “Meeting Britney and Abby on the 18th hole as they finished up their final tournament was really emotional. It is difficult to accurately express how much they have meant to the team over the last four years.”
Pacing Grace for the day was Sydney Cesare, who carded a mark of 82 which claimed her a third place finish. Hannah Godfrey grabbed a sixth place finish with her mark of 86 for the afternoon.
“Sydney was terrific again today,” Duncan added. “Sydney and Hannah have really finished the year well and I’m excited to see them continue to develop as we look towards next year.”
Grace’s senior pair of Klotz and Slabugh finished the day separated by a single stroke.
Slabaugh rounded out the top 10 with a score of 89, and Klotz wrapped up her time as a Lady Lancer with a mark of 90.
Continuing her momentum from Grace’s last tournament was Raigan King. The freshman bested her previous best mark by four-strokes to finish the round with a score of 94.
The Lady Lancers attention now turns towards the Crossroads League Tournament, which will be hosted on May 8th and 9th at Chariot Run.
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The Lancers (21-26, 13-23 CL) clinched the No.7 spot in the Crossroads League tournament with a win in the first game of the doubleheader against Bethel. With the decisive 6-3 win, Grace notched its 21st win of the season, tying the record for most wins in a season. Not only did it tie the overall wins record, it also marked the most conference wins in a season with 13.
The Pilots (19-29, 12-24 CL) struck first with two runs in the opening frame. The Lancers rebutted with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning when Maximo De Leon came around to score after a lead off single to make it 2-1.
The next runs came in the third inning when Grace stormed back to take the lead 4-2. De Leon led off with another single to get the rally started. He picked up a stolen base before Jeff Pawlik reached with a walk. Two batters later, Austin Carr ripped a double to the gap to plate both baserunners. An RBI single from Grant Hartley capped off the three-run inning.
The Lancers tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the seventh inning. Josh Cosme slapped a double to start the inning. Sam Newkirk followed with a towering drive over the scoreboard to push the lead to four after seven completed innings.
The Pilots clawed back a run in the eighth to cut the deficit, but starter Evan Etchison pitched his way out of the jam to maintain the 6-3 advantage.
Hunter Schumacher took over for Etchison in the ninth inning to record the save, his sixth of the season.
After allowing two runs in the first, Etchison settled in to throw six consecutive scoreless innings until he allowed a run in the eighth. He collected seven strikeouts on the day, which moved him into sole possession of second place in the career strikeouts category.
Grace combined for 12 hits in the game, with three hits apiece from De Leon and Carr. Newkirk added 3 RBIs and a run.
The back end of the doubleheader was an eventful one. The game featured two broken records, 29 combined runs and a long weather delay.
The Lancers jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first. De Leon singled to lead off the game and promptly stole second. His stolen base was number 29 of the season, which broke a 56-year old record set by Larry Smithwick in 1967. Pawlik and Newkirk later scored the first two runs of the game on Carr's single. Hartley followed with a single to plate another run.
Newkirk belted his second home run of the day with a solo shot in the third to put the Lancers up 4-0 after three.
Grace ran into trouble in the fourth when the Pilots put up a crooked number to break open the game with nine runs in the inning. The lead didn't last long as the Lancers responded with six runs in the bottom of the inning.
John Joyce put a jolt into one for a solo home run. The next five runs came with two outs. Pawlik and Cosme walked and both scored on the dropped fly ball off the bat of Newkirk. Another walk was followed by a big fly from Hartley for a three-run blast to retake the lead 10-9.
In the top of the sixth, the Pilots took advantage of two hit by pitches to manufacture a run to tie the game at 10. Shortly after the tying run crossed the plate, the game was sent into a lengthy weather delay. When play resumed, Bethel broke the deadlock with three more runs.
The Lancers didn't back down as they scored three runs and had the tying run on third base with two outs. Five consecutive batters reached base, bringing home three runs with RBIs from Joyce, De Leon and Cosme.
After ending the threat in the bottom of the sixth, Bethel put up three runs in the seventh to put the game out of reach, taking the finale 16-13.
Five batters recorded two hits. Hartley led the way with four RBIs, followed by three from Newkirk and two from Joyce. Carr added 3 runs, an RBI and a walk.
The Lancers will prepare for the conference tournament hosted by Huntington May 3-8. As the No. 7 seed, Grace will square off against No. 6 seed Spring Arbor in the opening round on Wednesday at 12 p.m.
Women’s Golf Tackles Trine Spring Classic
ANGOLA - Grace College’s women’s golf team finished up the 2022-23 regular season at the Trine Spring Classic.
The Lady Lancers “B” squad took second place in the tournament with a team score of 347. The tournament marked the end of the careers of Brittney Klotz and Abby Slabaugh who will graduate next week.
“This was a special day,” said Grace head coach Denny Duncan. “Meeting Britney and Abby on the 18th hole as they finished up their final tournament was really emotional. It is difficult to accurately express how much they have meant to the team over the last four years.”
Pacing Grace for the day was Sydney Cesare, who carded a mark of 82 which claimed her a third place finish. Hannah Godfrey grabbed a sixth place finish with her mark of 86 for the afternoon.
“Sydney was terrific again today,” Duncan added. “Sydney and Hannah have really finished the year well and I’m excited to see them continue to develop as we look towards next year.”
Grace’s senior pair of Klotz and Slabugh finished the day separated by a single stroke.
Slabaugh rounded out the top 10 with a score of 89, and Klotz wrapped up her time as a Lady Lancer with a mark of 90.
Continuing her momentum from Grace’s last tournament was Raigan King. The freshman bested her previous best mark by four-strokes to finish the round with a score of 94.
The Lady Lancers attention now turns towards the Crossroads League Tournament, which will be hosted on May 8th and 9th at Chariot Run.
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