WINONA LAKE – Grace’s softball team enjoyed a split on Senior Day with St. Mary-of-the-Woods College at Miller Field on Saturday.

The Lady Lancers used a walk-off single from Brooke Shell to top the Pomeroys 11-10 in nine innings in the opener before losing 6-4 in the second half of the twin bill.

“Overall I’m pleased with the team’s effort today,” said Grace head coach Heather Johnson. “I’m happy to see our girls fighting through the adversity of giving up a lead and battling back. Amanda [Bowman] threw really well for us in the second game. We didn’t give her the run support or defensive backing she needed to pull out the win, but we are happy with her pitch selection and placement.”

The first game of the doubleheader was full of excitement as the contest went into extra innings.

Grace opened up a 5-1 lead on the Pomeroys after two innings, but the visitors had a big inning in store. St. Mary-of-the-Woods exploded with five runs in the fourth inning with three doubles, two singles and a walk.

The Lady Lancers showed resolve with two more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to retake the lead at 7-6. Grace added an insurance run in the sixth, but it wasn’t enough to finish the game in regulation.

With two outs in the top of the seventh inning, the Pomeroys doubled to tie the game and force extra innings.

St. Mary-of-the-Woods tried to pull away in the eighth inning with a two-run bomb. It looked like a long inning could be brewing as the next batter hit a double in the left-center gap, but Alex Shipley limited the damage to two runs on the mound.

Needing two runs to stay alive, Grace got help from the Pomeroys when they scored on a defensive overthrow and later a wild pitch to plate senior Sam Fields from third base.

After Shipley held the Pomeroys scoreless in the top of the ninth, Brooke Shell won the game in the bottom of the inning. Shell hit a walk-off single up the middle past a diving second baseman to score Shipley for the winning run.

Shell was 3-for-6 from the plate with three runs scored and two stolen bases, and Jordan McKinley was 3-for-5 with two runs.

The second game was a dominant performance for St. Mary-of-the-Woods as the Lady Lancers could not complete the sweep.

Grace received strong pitching from freshman Amanda Bowman, but fielding errors by the Lady Lancers and timely hitting by the Pomeroys spoiled Bowman’s performance.

Grace had several chances to score in the contest but often came up empty. The Lady Lancers left seven runners on base in the second game with many of those being in scoring position.

The Lady Lancers scored one run in the fifth inning as Danielle Wellman singled in McKinley. The Lady Lancers tried their hand at a seventh-inning rally, trailing 6-1. Grace added three runs in their final at-bats and had the tying run at the plate, but the Lady Lancers popped out to end the game.

McKinley hit 2-for-3 in the second game to lead Grace with a pair of runs and a pair of stolen bases. Wellman also drove in two runs.

Saturday’s Senior Day honored the terrific career of shortstop Sam Fields, the program’s all-time leader in hits.

The Lady Lancers resume Crossroads League competition on Monday when they host Saint Francis for a 3 p.m. doubleheader. Grace will also host Spring Arbor on Tuesday at 3 p.m.

Story provided by Tony Stennett