LEAD

WYOMING, Mich. -- The Sabercats dropped the opening game of the weekend series against Grace Christian 16-2 before suspending game two in the third inning due to unplayable field conditions.

OVERVIEW

• Game One: Maranatha 2-16 Grace Christian
• Game Two: Maranatha 0-1 Grace Christian (suspended in 3rd inning - resume tomorrow if field is playable)
• Venue: Lamar Park
• Location: Wyoming, Mich.
• Attendance: -
• Records: MBU (0-14), GCU (1-31) 

STORY 

With rain coming, Maranatha had to forgo batting practice and fielding, leading to a total collapse on both ends of the ball early on. Grace Christian came out swinging the bats early, scoring five runs in the first two innings alone. The story of poor defense continued as Maranatha committed seven errors in the game, resulting in many extra pitches thrown and several runs scored.

The offense did show signs of life throughout the game, however. In the second inning, Jonathan Piranian drove in Sam Ratledge to put the Sabercats on the board, earning his third RBI of his rookie season. In the fourth, Maranatha loaded the bases for their first promising opportunity of the day. After a pitch, Grace Christian's catcher overthrew the pitcher, allowing Jonah Bailey to score by catching the middle infielders off guard. The other bright spot of the game was Daniel Piranian coming in to pitch once again and striking out two more batters in the third outing of his young career, racking up strikeouts number 11 and 12.

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Game two started much better for Maranatha as they had runners in scoring position in each of the first two innings, but Grace Christian put together some good defensive plays to stop them from scoring. David Cripps, in just his second pitching appearance of the season, tossed a one-two-three bottom of the first, forcing two infiled popups, before allowing just one run on a couple of well-placed ground balls.

As Cripps and the Sabercats came out to warm up entering the bottom of the third, the umpires and coaches met to suspend the game, given that several infield positions had begun to puddle, including the area surrounding home plate. The game has been suspended at a score of 1-0 entering the bottom of the third. It will be resumed tomorrow if the field is playable. After finishing the suspended game, Maranatha and Grace Christian will forgo the fourth game of the series and just play one more game before the Sabercats head home for a busy week of home games.

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Maranatha Lineup (Game One) - 7- D. Cripps (C), 19- T. Smith (SS), 8- Cummins (1B), 6- Ratledge (P), 4- J. Bailey (3B), 9- M. Bailey (CF), 15- J. Piranian (LF), 3- Croswell (2B), 10- M. Cripps (RF)

Maranatha Lineup (Game Two) - 7- D. Cripps (P), 19- T. Smith (SS), 8- Cummins (3B), 23- Nickels (1B), 4- J. Bailey (C), 9- M. Bailey (CF), 15- J. Piranian (LF), 3- Croswell (2B), 10- M. Cripps (RF)

STATS

• Box Score

OPPONENTS

• Grace Christian competes in the NCCAA DII Mideast Region
• Grace Christian is a first-year baseball program
• Grace Christian has 15 freshmen on their 17-player roster

NEXT

The Sabercats will resume the suspended game tomorrow around 1:00 p.m. ET, followed by a final game against Grace Christian. Follow at mbusabercats.com.