NORTH MANCHESTER, IND. – A stellar starting pitching effort from junior Cory Ferguson (Fort Wayne, Ind.) coupled with some timely hitting from sophomore second baseman Hunter Lane (Nappanee, Ind.) proved to be a positive equation for Manchester University Tuesday, April 5.
Ferguson kept a solid Defiance College line-up at bay for seven full innings, surrendering only five hits and striking out one Yellow Jacket over the span to gain his first win of the season in the 5-3 final. Meanwhile, at the plate, the bat of Lane proved key for the home side.
After DC starter and staff ace Nick Watkins allowed only one baserunner over the first two frames, the Black and Gold (12-9 overall, 6-2 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference) got on the scoreboard in the third. Senior catcher Elliott Ford (Rome City, Ind.) singled to left, and Lane stepped in and lofted a high shot to left field that carried well over the shrubs beyond the fence for a two-run home run. MU wasn't done in their half, either, as sophomore designated player Alec Trzeciak (Charlotte, Mich.) walked and moved to third on a ground out and fly out and was plated on a single through the left side by junior first baseman Tailur Szarenski (Bluffton, Ind.) for a 3-0 lead.
Lane and the Spartans added one in the fourth, as the sophomore clouted a sacrifice fly for his third RBI that scored sophomore third baseman Austin Rybicki (Fort Wayne, Ind.). They answered a single visiting run that was tallied in the seventh with an RBI single by Rybicki in the 8th to highlight a three-hit outburst. Fans at Gratz Field and the home side were glad they had those final two scores, too, as Defiance (10-10 overall, 3-5 HCAC) rallied in the ninth for a pair of runs aided by an error and hit by pitch, but a tremendous catch in the sun by sophomore center fielder Eric Knepper (Bremen, Ind.) just short of the 340 sign in right center field and a ground out to first base ended the comeback.
Manchester University, closing a five-game home span with a 4-1 record, takes to the road for a pivotal weekend league set at Earlham College Friday and Saturday, April 8 and 9. First pitch times are 4:15 p.m. Friday for a single nine-inning contest and 12 p.m. for a doubleheader Saturday at EC's Randal R. Sadler Stadium in Richmond.
NOTES: The win was MU's 10th straight and 14 in the last 15 of the all-time series against Defiance. It kept them just percentage points behind Rose-Hulman for first on the league standings and a half-game ahead of the Quakers for second place … Senior shortstop Sean Knepper (Bremen, Ind.) extended his on-base streak to 28 consecutive games, reaching on a first inning fielder's choice, an error in the fifth and a single in the eighth … Szarenski turned in his 10th multiple-hit effort of the season, going two-for-four with an RBI and run scored … Ferguson's pitching victory was his first since defeating Rose-Hulman last May.