Grace baseball sweeps Trolls
WESTFIELD, Ind. – Grace’s baseball team earned its first series win of the year, sweeping Trinity Christian on Tuesday.
The Lancers won the opener 7-3 thanks to some sharp pitching, and Grace won the second game 6-5 thanks to a late-game rally.
In the opener, Kameron Koch got Grace off to a good start with electric pitching from the mound. Koch allowed just one hit over three innings, striking out two and muting the Trolls.
The Lancers took advantage to grab an early lead. Alex Rich singled on Grace’s leadoff at-bat, and he later came home to score on a ground ball by Jeff Pawlik. Chris Griffin scored soon after on a passed ball.
In the third inning, Grace doubled its lead to 4-0. Sam Newkirk’s sacrifice fly brought in one run, and Austin Carr’s RBI single added another.
The Trolls threatened Grace’s lead with three runs in the top of the fourth, but the Lancers put the game out of reach with three runs of their own in the bottom of the frame.
Nick Stoltzfus and Houston Haney took care of the rest, tossing the final two innings in relief and refusing to surrender a run.
Haney also batted 2 for 4 with a run scored, and Rich was 2 for 4 with two runs and a steal. Griffin scored twice, Danforth was 1 for 2 with two steals and a run, and Pawlik added 2 RBIs, 1 run and 1 stolen base.
In the second game, Grace completed an emphatic rally to finish off the sweep.
Grace struck first but quickly fell behind. Chris Griffin laced a one-out triple to right field in the opening inning, bringing in Rich. But the Trolls scored five runs between the third and fourth innings to grab a 5-1 advantage.
The Lancers jumpstarted their rally in the top of the fifth. RJ Snyder hit a triple to score Rich, and Griffin’s sacrifice fly on the next at-bat allowed Snyder to come home.
Grace pulled to within one thanks to another run in the sixth inning. Sam Newkirk started the inning with a single, and Braden Compton entered to pinch run. Compton stole second and third base and then raced home on a passed ball to make the score 5-4.
In the top of the seventh, Griffin tied the game with an RBI single to left field. Haney followed that up with a double to put the Lancers ahead 6-5.
Pitcher Jake Decker was brilliant in relief. He tossed three scoreless innings of relief in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to record the win.
Griffin hit 2 for 2 with three RBIs, and Rich was 2 for 3 with two runs and a stolen base. Compton scored twice and stole two bases, and Snyder finished 1 for 3 with two runs and an RBI.
The Lancers end the week with a four-game series with Bethel. The games will be held at Prasco Park (Mason, Ohio), marking the Crossroads League opener for both teams.
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