Wyoming, MI - The Tigers took on the Maranatha Baptist University Sabercats over the weekend for a four game set at Kelloggwoods Park. Grace came into the weekend playing some really good baseball, going 5-4 since spring break including a game against NCAA DI Central Michigan University earlier that week.
Game one
The Tigers started out a bit slow in game one, allowing Maranatha to maintain the lead 6-4 through the first 3 innings. However, Grace picked it up soon after and regained the lead with a 4-run fourth inning, followed by a 7-run sixth inning to put the game out of reach for Maranatha. The final score would end 16-8 in Grace's favor.
Jared Garnaat led the way going 3-4, 2B, 3B, 2R, 2RBI in the game, and
Royce Frieburger,
Eric Whiting and
Sam Sipe also doing damage with 2 hits a piece.
Benji Kramer picked up the win on the mound, going 4.0 IP, 4H, 1ER, 6K.
Game two
Grace looked to pick up where they left off in game two and that they did, scoring 4 runs in the bottom of the first inning. Grace never looked back once gaining the lead and cruised to an 11-3 victory. Garnaat again led the offense with a 3-hit game, followed by
Damian Fernandez and
Dale Westphal who also collected two hits each.
Royce Frieburger threw 5.0 innings in the game, allowing just 3 hits, 1 ER, and striking out 2.
Game three
Matt Hoonhorst started game three on the bump on Saturday and went a strong 4.0 innings, giving up 0 ER on 5 hits. The Tigers' offense took over yet again in this game, scoring 20 runs off of 17 hits. Five Tigers owned multi-hit games in this contest, including
Alex Bonnema,
Damian Fernandez,
Jared Garnaat,
AJ Scott and
Dale Westphal. This was the first time in program history that Grace scored 20 runs in a game.
Game four
The temperature continued to rise on Saturday, as did the bats continue to heat up. Seven Tigers had multi-hit games here, including
Alex Bonnema,
Jared Garnaat,
Royce Frieburger,
Aiden Benson,
Josh Howard,
Caleb Achatz, and
AJ Scott. Howard and Frieburger each had home runs in the game. The knockout blow from Grace came in the second in ning when they scored 12 runs, bringing the score to 17-0 after two innings. The final score ended at 37-3.
John Green picked up the win on the mound.
After an exciting weekend, Grace looks ahead to play Cleary University on Monday, April 8th at 4:30pm in Howell, MI. The Tigers will also make a return trip to Wisconsin in two weeks to take on the Sabercats again at Maranatha.
