Cougars Take Down Grace Lancers in Series Sweep
Game 2
Game 2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Saint Francis (Ind.) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 2 |
|
Grace | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Saint Francis (Ind.) | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 13 | 2 |
|
Grace | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 0 |
Winona Lake, Ind. - The University of Saint Francis (Ind). Cougars baseball team took on the Grace College Lancers to wrap up their series on Saturday. They were able to have another great day and sweep the series.
Jayden Lepper started the first game with a bang, going yard in the very first at bat to put the Cougs up 1-0. In the second, Jose Valdez-Sandoval had a bases loaded walk to bring in a run, a ground ball brought in another, and Jayden Lepper had an rbi single to make it 4-0. Grace responded with a 4 run bottom half of the inning to tie it up. They then scored again in the fifth to take the lead 5-4. A Xavier Croxton solo homerun tied it up in the seventh, and Eli Riley double in the eighth put them up 6-5. Then in the ninth, Kolton Cardenas cleared the bases with a 3 rbi double to make it 9-5. Graham Kelham shut the door with his 9th save on the year, punching out 3 batters to win this one 9-5.
Nick Parsons stayed hot and hit his fifth homerun of the series, a two run shot in the first to put USF up early. A fielders choice scored another in the second to make it 3-0. Deron Swanson was dominant yet again on the mound, going 5 innings with 8 strikeouts. The Cougs put up 4 in the sixth from a Kolton Cardenas single, an error on a great bunt from Callan Stauffer scored two, and Jayden Lepper had a sacrifice fly. They extended their lead to 7-0. Bryce Adams and Blaine McRae were great out of the bullpen to keep this one a shutout. USF wins this one 7-0.
There were many key contributors for the Cougars on the day. Deron Swanson, Bryce Adams, and Blaine McRae only allowing one hit across seven innings and getting the shut out was huge. Casey Henry did well out of the pen with 4 strikeouts across 3 innings in the first game. And Graham Kelham getting his 9th save on the year. Nick Parsons had his fifth homerun of the series and 14th on the year. Jayden Lepper was 3-8 with a homerun and 3 rbis on the day. Xavier Croxton had 4 hits which included a homerun as well. Kolton Cardenas was 4-6 with 4 big rbis for the offense.
The Cougars are now 31-14 and 21-11 in conference play. They will finish up their regular season with a 4-game series against the Mount Vernon Nazarene Cougars. They are currently 21-21 overall and 17-15 in conference.
Cougar fans stay updated with all events and recaps with USF Athletics by visiting saintfranciscougars.com or by downloading the Saint Francis Cougars app.
- Sam Pesa -
