MELBOURNE, Fla. - Grace College’s softball picked up its first win of the 2024 season on Wednesday afternoon.
The Lancers started what will be a six-game week in Florida, with a 3-1 victory over Fort Lauderdale before dropping their second game of the day 11-3 to St. Thomas.
Grace got on the scoreboard early in game one, grabbing a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Bela Duran had a one-out triple and was brought in to score when Ellis singled to center field.
The Lancers threatened again in the second inning when Maisy Harlow got into scoring position with a single and stolen base but Grace was unable to extend their lead.
Grace continued to take advantage of its speed on the base paths in the third inning which resulted in a pair of runs. Halle Nett had a single and a stolen base before coming in to score on a Duran double, her second extra-base hit of the game.
Ellis moved Duran from second to third with a single and took Duran's previous position on second base with a clean steal to give the Lancers a pair of runners in scoring position with no outs. Cassie Hayes pushed the Grace lead to 3-0 with an RBI but the Eagles were able to avoid any further damage in the inning.
In the circle, Ellis was nearly untouchable as she retired the first 10 Fort Lauderdale batters before an Eagle player finally reached base in the fourth inning with a one-out walk. Ellis carried her shutout performance into the bottom of the sixth inning.
The Eagles loaded the bases with no-outs in the sixth inning but Ellis worked her way out of the jam while surrendering just one run.
Fort Lauderdale had one last push for the lead in the home half of the seventh inning. The Eagles got runners in scoring position with one out, but Grace slammed the door on any hopes of a comeback and picked up the 3-1 win.
Ellis pitched the complete game and gave up just four hits, while collecting three hits and a RBI for herself. Duran had a pair of extra base hits and Grace collected four stolen bases.
In game two Grace fell behind early and struggled to keep pace with the high powered St. Thomas offense.
Kyrah Lewis and Nett each had hits in the opening innings for Grace but the Lancers were unable to match the Bobcats’ five runs through three innings.
St. Thomas exploded for six more runs in the top of the fourth inning as they extended their lead to 11-0.
In the bottom of the fourth inning Grace used a two-out rally to break the deadlock. Tia O’Connor singled and Harlow reached safely on a walk which set the play for Avery Sleeth who was subbed in as a pinch hitter.
Sleeth singled and the Bobcat defense had a misplayed relay which allowed O’Connor and Harlow to score. Grace added another run to their total when Kaitlyn Seagrave had an RBI double to left field.
The Lancers were unable to get any closer as they fell 11-3.
Seven different Lancers had hits in the contest and freshman Chloe Huff struck out three batters.