The 2018 home schedule concludes for Manchester University Saturday and Sunday, April 21 and 22.
Game details: MU (14-15 overall, 4-6 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference) hosts Mt. St. Joseph University in a league twin bill Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. Wabash College of the North Coast Athletic Conference pays a visit to Gratz Field, home of the Spartans, Sunday for a 12 p.m. single nine-inning contest … Live audio, statistics, and video are accessible at www.muspartans.com, the Internet home of Manchester University athletics, for all three games … The brace also serves as Senior Weekend 2018 as the 10-man Class of 2018 is recognized.
Spartan Shorts: Infielder Hunter Lane (Nappanee, Ind.), outfielder/designated hitter Eric Knepper (Bremen, Ind.), pitcher Landon Stratford (South Bend, Ind.), pitcher Brandon Eck (Fort Wayne, Ind.), pitcher Deric Haynes (Goshen, Ind.), pitcher Taylor Kopplin (Westport, Ind.), pitcher Stephen Pinarski (Goshen, Ind.), outfielder/pitcher Alec Trzeciak (Charlotte, Mich.), catcher Peter Shepherd (Warsaw, Ind.) and pitcher Garrett Phelps (Covington, Ind.) have been a part of many successes during their time with the Black and Gold. Included on the class resume is 84 victories coming into this weekend, three straight 20-or-more win campaigns, three Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament appearances and an HCAC championship round outing in 2015 … Coach Rick Espeset's crew seeks to break out of doldrums where they've dropped four of their last five. Their most recent outing was against league-leading and D3Baseball.com and American Baseball Coaches Association top 25-ranked Franklin College April 15. Despite the Grizzlies taking both ends of the doubleheader, sophomore outfielder Joe Gallatin (Muncie, Ind.)and sophomore infielder Isaiah Knight-Neraasen (Fort Wayne, Ind.) managed a pair of hits apiece in the opener, and junior outfielder Tyler LaFollette (Warsaw, Ind.) added a similar output in game two … One of the Spartans' seniors holds a top-five ranking on the current loop numbers. Kopplin's 43 strikeouts are fourth-best, while his four wins are tied for fifth. Looking into the top 10, LaFollette and sophomore infielder Nick Rush (Terre Haute, Ind.) stand seven-eight in batting average (LaFollette .381/Rush .377); Knepper's three home runs are tied for eighth, and Phelps and fellow upperclassman John Magers are tied for sixth in saves (two each) … The Spartans begin an eight-game road trip that will conclude the regular season Tuesday, April 24, with a pair of conference tilts at Defiance College's Craig A. Rutter Field. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.