GOSHEN, Ind. – The Lancers’ baseball squad improved to 3-1 in Crossroads League play with a split of Goshen on Saturday afternoon.

The Lancers (10-9, 3-1 CL) pulled out a 4-3 victory in the first game before Goshen’s pitching stifled the Lancers into a 9-0 defeat in game two.

In the opening game, timely hitting and strong pitching helped Grace to a narrow 4-3 victory. Grace had three fielding errors in the contest, but the Lancers also outhit the Maple Leafs 9-6.

The Lancers came out firing in the first inning, scoring three runs with a massive two-out rally. CJ Swartz walked with two men out and stole second. He came home on a single from Austin Green. Back-to-back doubles from Quentin Herbster and Frank Rocchio drove in two more runs as Grace grabbed a 3-0 lead.

Neither team would score again until the fifth inning when the Maple Leafs tied the game. It was Goshen’s turn to make a two-out run, plating all three of their runs after the first two batters were retired. A throwing error kept Goshen’s inning alive on the fifth at-bat, and the Maple Leafs made Grace pay by tying the game at 3-3.

The Lancers’ response was immediate in the top of the sixth. Green doubled down the right field line. After Logan Grigsby came on as a pinch runner, he advanced to third on a wild pitch. Rocchio took care of the rest with a sacrifice fly to right-center field to bring home Grigsby.

Goshen was poised to even the score in the bottom of the sixth with a runner on third and one out, but Grace made the defensive play of the game to tag out the runner at home plate on a bunt. Goshen still had two runners in scoring position with two outs, but Jason Stevens got the final batter of the inning to ground out to second base.

Stevens pitched 2.1 innings in relief, allowing one hit and zero runs in an effective outing. The Maple Leafs again put a runner in scoring position in the seventh, but Stevens ended the game from the mound with a strikeout and a ground out to third.

Brook Vosler and Aaron Christenberry were 2-for-4 from the first two spots in the lineup, and Green batted 2-for-3. Rocchio drove in three of Grace’s four runs.

The second game was a forgettable one for Grace. The Lancers were held to one hit by the sterling pitching of Goshen’s Eli Grimes.

CJ Swartz got Grace’s lone hit of the second game with the first at-bat of the seventh inning, spoiling a potential no-hitter from Grimes. Grace did have one baserunner from an error, one from a hit by pitch and one from a walk, but the Lancers were otherwise handcuffed on offense. Wesley Gensch notched two strikeouts in a scoreless inning of relief.

The Lancers’ next doubleheader is on Friday next week at Mt. Vernon Nazarene.