Grace Baseball Squad Sweeps Goshen
WINONA LAKE – The Grace College baseball team put on its finest Crossroads League performance of 2013 in a sweep of Goshen College on Sunday.
The Lancers (11-15; 4-12 CL) made short work of the Maple Leafs, winning 11-4 and 6-1.
Grace fell behind 1-0 in the opener before playing “small ball” put the team back in front in the third inning.
CJ Swartz opened the third inning with a single, and Brook Vosler sacrificed him to second. Another single from Tyler Weber put runners on the corners with one out, and Goshen was called for a balk to plate Swartz.
A fielding error by the Maple Leafs (3-28; 2-16 CL) again put runners on the corners, and Joey Hickerson laid down a squeeze bunt to the right side of the infield to score Weber.
In the top of the fourth, Goshen placed a runner on third base with two outs. Grace handed Goshen their second run when they dropped a fly ball for the potential third out of the inning.
The Maple Leafs in turn handed the Lancers a few runs in the bottom of the fourth. Goshen was credited with three errors and another balk as Jeff Watkin, Frank Rocchio, Dillon Papa, Weber, Jeff Himes and Hickerson all came around to score in the inning, and the Lancers never looked back.
Rocchio added a solo home run in the fifth inning in the team’s 11-4 win.
Swartz batted a perfect 4-for-4, and Weber finished 3-for-4 in the leadoff position. Matt Helm picked up the win from the mound by tossing five innings of five-hit ball, striking out four batters in the process.
The Lancers got off to a fast start in the second game with three straight RBI hits in the first inning to stake a 3-0 lead. Their spurt included consecutive doubles from Hickerson and Jacob Bloom.
Mike Shank added a two-run single in the fourth inning, and Swartz singled in another tally in the fifth to increase the Lancers’ cushion to 6-1.
Kier West impressed from the mound with a complete-game three-hitter. He needed just 75 pitches to retire the Maple Leafs, striking out three batters and walking none.
Shank, Hickerson and Papa each notched two hits for Grace, and Bloom scored twice.
Grace had split a conference doubleheader at Goshen on Saturday. The host Maple Leafs won the opener 10-9 before the Lancers cruised to a 20-3 win in game two. Jeff Himes belted a grand slam in the opener for the Lancers, while Jacob Bloom and Brady Ousley each had four RBI in the nightcap.
The Lancers’ next league games are on Thursday when they travel to Marian for a doubleheader at 2 p.m.