For a team that had produced just nine runs in its past six games, the Lancaster Bible baseball team needed a game like Wednesday. The Chargers smashed a season-high 19 hits (just three less than their total from the previous six games), including five home runs and cruised past Cairn, 14-4 at Charger Field. The victory snaps a four-game losing streak for Lancaster Bible and the team is now 11-19 overall this season. Cairn falls to 8-26 this season, despite banging out 10 hits.

Lancaster Bible freshman Hunter Gray got things started for the Chargers on Wednesday as he drilled the first home run of his collegiate career over the left-center wall in the bottom of the second to give Lancaster Bible a 2-0 lead. His home run scored Jimmy Eagan who had singled to lead-off the inning. The Chargers weren't done in the second as Ryan Hartline doubled after Gray's home run, which turned the line-up over and brought Justin Taylor to the plate. Taylor matched Gray's feat as he deposited a ball over the centerfield wall to double the Chargers' lead to 4-0. 



The scored stayed that way until the bottom of the fourth when Josh Mayer led off the inning with a single and was followed by Gray who also singled. Mayer moved to third on the single by Gray and Gray stole second as Hartline struck out to give the Chargers runners on second and third with one out. Taylor reached on a fielder's choice and moved to second as the Highlanders committed an error that allowed Mayer to score and Gray to move to third. After a strikeout by Caleb Mayer, Gray scored on a wild pitch during Nate Long's at-bat to make it 6-0. Long would eventually walk and bring up Lancaster Bible clean-up hitter Erich Carroll who did just what his job title says as he cleared the bases with a triple to extend the Lancaster Bible lead to 8-0.

In between the offense was the steady pitching of freshman Braden Elliott who pitched six innings and allowed six hits and just one run en route to his second victory of the season. Caleb Lang homered in the sixth for the Highlanders to cut the deficit to 8-1, but Nate Long answered right back in the bottom half of the inning for the Chargers as he hit his fifth home run of the season. 

Cairn scored three times in the seventh inning to make it a 9-4 game, but Long was at it again in the bottom half of the inning as he hit a grand slam to give Lancaster Bible a 13-4 lead. Gray added his second home run of the game in the eighth to give the Chargers a 14-4 victory on a picturesque day at Charger Field. 

Gray enjoyed the best game of his young collegiate career as he was 4-for-5 with three runs scored and three RBI. Long finished the day 3-for-4 with five RBI and three runs scored, while Jimmy Eagan was 3-for-5 with a run scored. Taylor finished 2-for-5 with three runs scored and three RBI and Hartline was 2-for-5 with two runs scored. 



In addition to Elliott, the Chargers got good outings from relievers Gabe Yoder, Mitch Kumer and Chris Albright who four hits and three runs in three innings of work. 

Lancaster Bible will wrap-up its season on Saturday as the Chargers host Penn St. Abington in a North Eastern Athletic Conference doubleheader that is slated to begin at 1 p.m.