Graceland Baseball Drops Four Straight to Grand View
LAMONI, Iowa – The Graceland University baseball team dropped both games of a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader on Sunday afternoon, falling to Grand View University by scores of 25 – 2 and 6 – 3 at Chase Stadium. The Yellowjackets were swept in the four-game series and have now lost five straight contests. With the losses, Graceland drops to 14-18 overall and 7-9 in conference play, while Grand View improves to 16-3 overall and 11-1 in the Heart.
Game 1: Grand View 25 – Graceland 2
The Vikings exploded for 25 runs on 25 hits in the opener, scoring in five of seven innings and batting around in a 12-run fourth inning. Grand View collected 11 extra-base hits, including home runs from Brock Johnson, Brock Rinehart, and Hank Himrich. Graceland's scoring came in the second and third innings. Senior Ramsel Jerez hit a solo home run to right in the second, and senior JD Woodruff added a sacrifice fly in the third to bring home freshman Brian Knutsen. Senior right-hander Izaac Rabelo took the loss, allowing 11 earned runs over 2.1 innings. Junior Mason Krogsgaard, junior Cade Witzke, and sophomore Luke Frost each saw action in relief. Grand View had 11 different players record hits and eight different players drive in at least one run. Offensively, Graceland finished with just four hits. Jerez, sophomore Gabriel Perez, and juniors Trevor Yorges and Cade Connell each had a hit, while Woodruff and Connell shared duties behind the plate.
Game 2: Grand View 6 – Graceland 3
The Yellowjackets took a brief 1-0 lead in the first inning when junior Jake Bauer drove in freshman Ambrus Sharky with a two-out RBI single. Grand View responded with four runs in the fourth inning, including back-to-back home runs from Brayden Heinen and Brock Johnson. Graceland cut the lead to 4-2 on a solo home run from junior Jayden Gilbert in the bottom of the fourth, and later made it 6-3 in the seventh after Elio Narvaez reached on a single and scored on a groundout by Sharky. Narvaez, Yorges, Gilbert, Bauer, junior Matt Klonsinski, and junior Juan Guzman each recorded hits in the loss. Junior Carson Chiprez and senior JD Woodruff also contributed as pinch runners and pinch hitters, respectively. Perez started on the mound for Graceland, going six full innings and allowing four earned runs on seven hits with one walk and one strikeout. Senior Dylan Batista and senior Zach Tanabe pitched in relief, with Tanabe tossing a scoreless seventh inning. Rinehart's two-run homer in the seventh gave Grand View a late cushion, and the Yellowjackets were unable to mount a final-inning rally.
"This was a tough weekend. Getting swept at home hurts," said Graceland head coach Brad Payne. "We know what kind of team Grand View is, and they made us pay for every mistake. But we're not discouraged — we believe in the direction we're going and what this group is building. We'll get back to work and respond."
Up Next
Graceland will look to regroup next weekend when it travels to Canton, Missouri, for a four-game conference series against Culver-Stockton College. The Yellowjackets and Wildcats will play doubleheaders on Saturday, March 29, and Sunday, March 30, with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. each day.
For more information on Graceland baseball and all of Graceland athletics, visit GUjackets.com.