Softball

Grace’s softball team made quick work of Bethel on Friday, winning 7-1 and 8-0 at Miller Athletic Complex.

The Lady Lancers (12-26, 6-18 Crossroads League) used strong pitching from a pair of freshmen to go along with balanced offense in the sweep.

Grace seemed to improve as each game progressed. During the opener, the teams were tied 1-1 after the Pilots (3-31, 2-24 CL) scored in the top of the third.

Grace took the lead in the bottom of the third and never looked back. Abby Mozingo led off the inning with a walk and then stole second and third base. With two outs, Kyleigh Garner singled up the middle to put the Lady Lancers ahead for good.

The Lady Lancers added five more insurance runs late in the game. Sam Heim had a two-out, two-run double, and Chandler Elliot drove in a run in both the fifth and sixth innings.

Hannah Middlebrooks took care of the rest from the mound. The freshman hurled all seven innings, yielding five hits and four walks with one run scored.

Britney Young hit 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI, Garner was 2-for-4 with two runs scored, and Elliott hit 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

Hannah Herbster stole three bases and plated twice, and Heim was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

The second game was shortened due to the run rule. Dori Knight handcuffed Bethel from the mound, throwing a one-hit shutout in the five-inning shortened game.

The game started slowly until Grace erupted in the fourth inning. Mozingo scored the first run of the contest thanks to a single, a steal, a ground ball and a passed ball in the bottom of the first.

Grace’s 1-0 lead held until the fourth. The Lady Lancers racked up seven runs in the game-changing inning thanks to five hits and two errors.

Young had an RBI double, and Elliott drove in two more with a double. Emily Bobb drove in a run and then scored after a sacrifice fly from Herbster. Elliott and Olivia Scarbrough were alert on the basepaths, racing home to score on errant throws by the Pilots.

Knight shut Bethel down 1-2-3 in the top of the fifth to secure the run-rule victory.

Elliott was 1-for-3 with two RBIs and a run, and Mozingo had 2 steals, 1 hit and 1 run.

The Lady Lancers continue their homestand on Saturday, hosting Spring Arbor at 1 p.m.

Baseball

Grace’s baseball team let an early lead fade in a 6-4 loss to Spring Arbor on Friday.

The Lancers (5-27, 5-12 Crossroads League) scored all four of their runs in the opening two innings. But Grace was unable to score for the final seven frames of the nine-inning contest.

The Cougars (20-20, 10-8 CL) were consistent with baserunners, holding a 12-6 advantage in hits. Grace also struggled in the field with four errors.

SAU jumped ahead 2-0 in the top of the first, but the lead was short-lived. The Lancers struck back with three runs to go on top.

Cameron Maxwell singled, Austin Baker doubled, and Gabe Douglass was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Hunter Ackerman’s ground ball brought in one run, and David Anderson hit a timely two-out, two-run double down the right field line to make the score 3-2.

Grace loaded the bases again in the bottom of the second thanks to Ethan Brooks’s double and two hit batsmen. Austin Baker was then hit by a pitch, allowing Brooks to score. But with one out and the bases still loaded, SAU escaped thanks to a double play.

The Cougars cut Grace’s lead to one in the top of the third and pulled ahead with a three-run fifth.

Grace was primarily muted for the rest of the contest. The Lancers had a runner on third base in the eighth but came up empty.

In Grace’s final at-bats, the Lancers put the tying run on base. Maxwell and Houston Haney both walked to keep pressure on the Cougars, but SAU escaped thanks to a double play on the next at-bat.

Jacob Hammel and Kyle Brunner combined to pitch three scoreless innings of relief.

Ackerman was 1-for-3 with a run and an RBI, Anderson was 1-for-4 with two RBIs and a steal, and Baker hit 1-for-4 with a run and an RBI.

The Lancers and Cougars end their series on Saturday at Miller Athletic Complex with a 12 p.m. doubleheader.