MISHAWAKA, Ind. - Grace’s baseball team completed the season sweep of Bethel on Thursday afternoon, securing a spot in the conference tournament next week.
The Lancers led the entire way in both games, knocking off the Pilots 6-2 and 5-3 to end the regular season.
Grace got things started in the third inning of game one with a pair of runs to gain momentum.
After Addison Hickman and Maximo De Leon reached base, Matt Friesema picked up where he left off with a two-run single to right.
The visitors brought two more runs across in the fifth inning to extend the lead.
De Leon singled and Austin Carr added two more RBIs to his all-time record with a home run to make it 4-0.
Two more runs scored in the seventh without the Lancers recording a hit in the inning.
The first three batters of the inning work walks to load the bases. Grant Hartley picked up an RBI with a hit by pitch to plate one. A wild pitch to the next batter allowed the final run to score.
The Pilots broke their scoreless drought with a pair of runs in the bottom half. The bullpen, however, closed the door by putting zeros on the board the final two frames.
Steven Hernandez scattered six hits on the afternoon to pick up the win. He pitched six scoreless innings with two strikeouts. Isaac Roberts and Joey Springer went the final three innings, allowing two runs and fanning three.
De Leon finished 3 for 4 with three runs and a walk. Friesema and Carr had 1 hit, 2 RBIs, 1 run and 1 walk each. Grace hitters knocked four extra-base hits in the game, three doubles and one home run.
Grace started the nightcap with runs in the first two innings to take the early 2-0 lead.
Three batters worked walks in the first before Annikan Pettit singled to score De Leon. An inning later, De Leon smacked an RBI single, scoring Hickman.
The Lancers tacked on two more runs in the fourth to make it 4-0.
Hickman walked and picked up a stolen base, allowing De Leon to bring him home. Friesema followed with a single to plate De Leon.
The Pilots halved the deficit in the home half of the fifth, forcing a call to the bullpen. Caleb Davis came in to get the final out of the inning to end the rally.
An insurance run crossed the plate in the sixth when De Leon walked and Hartley blooped a single into right to score the runner from second.
The home team threatened to tie the game in the bottom of the frame.
The Pilots scored one run and loaded the bases with one out. With the tying run on second, Elijah Bruns entered the game to get a strikeout and fly out to keep the two-run lead intact. He went on to get a 1-2-3 seventh inning to nail down the save and complete the four-game sweep.
Mason Meyer recorded the win with 4.2 innings of work, scattering five hits and two runs on the day.
Hartley went 2 for 3 with an RBI and a walk. De Leon finished 1 for 2 with 2 walks, 2 RBIs and 3 runs.
Grace enters the conference tournament as the No. 8 seed and will face the No. 5 seed in a single-elimination play-in game. The tournament, hosted by Taylor, begins on May 1.