Lancers Lose Pair Of League Games To St. FrancisWINONA LAKE — Offense was at a premium for the Grace College baseball team on Wednesday, as the Lancers fell twice at home to St. Francis. The doubleheader, which was originally planned to be played in Fort Wayne, was shifted to Grace’s Miller Field due to poor field conditions at St. Francis. The Lancers lost a 3-2, nine-inning battle in the opener, then fell 5-1 in the second game. Freshman pitcher Austin Green had another impressive outing for the Lancers in the opening game, following his six-inning no-hitter performance against Taylor last week. Green pitched his way out of an early jam to keep the Cougars (11-22, 7-9 Crossroads League) off the scoreboard, as St. Francis loaded the bases with one out in the inning, before Green notched three strikeouts to escape unharmed. The Cougars maintained their one-run cushion thanks to strong pitching from Kyle McKay, who limited Grace to two hits over the first six innings. The Lancers (9-20, 8-13 CL) had a golden opportunity to even the game in the fifth with the bases loaded, but the final batter for Grace struck out. Grace waited until its final at-bats of the seventh to get on the scoreboard. Paul Blankley’s ground ball brought in Tyler Weber to knot the score at 1-1. The Cougars threatened to win the game in the bottom of the inning, but Blankley, Aaron Christenberry (Warsaw Community HS) and Jared Lemler (WCHS) ended the inning with a double play. Christenberry’s throw to Lemler tagged out the potential game-winning run at home plate. The Lancers moved ahead in the eighth when Jacob Bloom (WCHS) and Christenberry doubled, but the Cougars tied the game with an unearned run in the bottom of the inning. St. Francis went on the win the game in the 10th inning when two fielding miscues from Grace allowed the Cougars to win, 3-2. Green went the distance for the Lancers, tossing 123 pitches for the eight-inning complete game. He allowed six scattered hits and struck out eight batters in a strong performance. Bloom was 2-for-3 at the plate. In the second game, St. Francis was consistent at the plate, scoring one run in the second and third innings, two runs in the fourth and one more in the fifth to take a 5-0 lead. Similar to the first game, the Lancers were silenced offensively until the seventh inning. Grace managed to push across one run when Cody Young scored on a double from Joey Hickerson (WCHS), but the Lancers were retired with two runners in scoring position on the next at-bat. Hickerson was 2 for 3 from the leadoff position for Grace. Wesley Gensch (Whitko HS) pitched the final two innings of relief for the Lancers. The Lancers hope to rebound in their next series with Spring Arbor on Thursday before hosting the Cougars on Saturday at 1 p.m.
