FRANKLIN, IND. – Manchester University's offense picked up right where it left off April 8 against Defiance College of Ohio posting 12 runs on 17 hits in its Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference series opener with Franklin College Friday, April 11.

Just two days removed from a single-game high 19 runs, MU (16-9, 10-2 HCAC) jumped on the Grizzlies pitching staff from the beginning at FC's John P. McDowell Memorial Field. The visitors plated a run in the second after junior outfielder Justin Miller (Yorktown, Ind.) and senior outfielder Ryne Lehrman (Hoagland, Ind.) drilled back-to-back doubles. Lehrman came up an inning later and hammered a two-run triple to highlight a six-run, five-hit effort that opened the lead up to 7-0.

The Black and Gold's offense didn't stop there. They added a single run in the fourth and a pair of two-run rallies in the sixth and seventh to close up their outburst.

Six Spartans wound up with multiple-hit totals. Senior designated hitter Dan Maringer (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and freshman first baseman Tailur Szarenski (Bluffton, Ind.) each ended with three hits apiece, while Lehrman added two hits and three RBIs to go along with two-hit games from sophomore catcher Elliott Ford (Rome City, Ind.), junior second baseman Logan Hug (Indianapolis, Ind.) and sophomore second baseman Sean Knepper (Bremen, Ind.).

Manchester University's offensive totals were more than enough to aid senior starter Temujin Sery (Fort Wayne, Ind.) in lifting his overall and league record to 4-0. Sery was touched for just five hits and no earned runs while striking out five over eight innings.

MU's series with Franklin resumes Saturday, April 12. The Spartans and Grizzlies begin a doubleheader at 12 p.m.

NOTES: The Black and Gold upped their win streak to nine … Manchester University increased its conference lead to a game and a half over second place Rose-Hulman.