Grace Nine Splits With Bethel
WINONA LAKE – The Grace College baseball team kept its postseason hopes alive with a split of Bethel College on Saturday.
The Lancers’ Senior Day saw an opening-game loss before rallying late in the second game to win 4-1.
Grace is currently one game behind Bethel for eighth place in the Crossroads League. The top eight teams in the league will compete in the postseason league tournament in May.
Bethel jumped on the scoreboard first in the opener with a five-run second inning. The Pilots (11-27; 8-16 CL) led off the inning with two straight hits and were aided by a pair of Lancer fielding errors to score five runs.
The Pilots picked up two more unearned runs in the fourth inning to grab a 7-0 lead.
After mustering just one hit over the first five innings, Grace’s bats came to life in the sixth with a pair of runs.
With two outs on the board, Grace (13-19-1; 6-16-1 CL) produced back-to-back RBI singles from Jacob Bloom and CJ Swartz to cut Bethel’s lead to 7-2.
But Grace’s rally fell short as Bethel added another tally to win 8-2. The Pilots outhit the Lancers 12-4 in the opener.
Bloom finished 2-for-3 in defeat for the Lancers.
The Pilots struck first again in the second game when they scored a first-inning run against freshman lefthander Jared Holloman.
Holloman kept Bethel off the scoreboard for the next five innings, putting the Lancers in an opportunity to rally.
Jeff Himes tied the game in the third inning with a two-out single to score Brook Vosler.
The go-ahead run for Grace came in the sixth inning when Himes reached base on an error. Bloom singled Himes to second base, and Swartz’s RBI single on the next at-bat put the Lancers on top.
Frank Rocchio added another RBI single, and Steven Hovermale’s sacrifice fly ball gave Grace a 4-1 lead.
Dellos Schabel came in to pitch the top of the seventh inning and saw Bethel load the bases in their final at-bats. But Schabel held on to record the save and keep the Pilots from scoring a run.
Seven different players for Grace recorded a hit. Holloman picked up the win from the mound by tossing six innings of five-hit ball, allowing one run without a walk.
Grace’s Senior Day honored their five outstanding seniors: Clifford Buttermore, Matt Helm, Kier West, Jeff Himes and Jason Smith.
The Lancers will take on the Pilots again on Tuesday in Mishawaka, Ind., for a 2 p.m. doubleheader.