RICHMOND, Ind. – The Earlham College baseball team split a twin bill with Manchester University at Sadler Stadium on Sunday, winning game one 8-4 and falling 10-9 in the nightcap. The Quakers took the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) series 2-1 thanks to a 3-0 win on Saturday.
In the victory, the Quakers used three home runs to get on the board first. Junior Eric Elkus hit his sixth home run of the season, a solo shot in the second, to give Earlham a 1-0 advantage. Senior Thomas Rea trotted around the bases with a two-run home run in the fifth. Leading 3-0, sophomore Joe Pipher also hit a two-run home run in the very next inning.
Leading 6-0, Manchester got a run in the seventh, but the Quakers answered with two runs on two hits and a Spartan error in the bottom half of the frame. Manchester did get the tying run to the plate in the ninth, but a strikeout from junior Dalton Carter earned him the save and an Earlham victory.
Earlham was outhit 12-8 in the game, but five of the Quakers' hits were of the extra base variety. Elkus led the way finishing 3-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
Senior Bryce Rainey improved to 3-1 on the year with the win, allowing one earned run on six hits and striking out three in eight innings of work.
In the loss, Manchester jumped on top 5-0 with three runs in the first and two in the third. Earlham responded with a two-RBI triple in the bottom of the third. Junior Brennan Laird doubled the following at bat, scoring Bailey for the third run of the inning.
The Quakers added a run in the fourth on a Pipher RBI-single to get within a single run at 5-4, but the Spartans added a run of their own in the fifth. Earlham, once again, added a run in the bottom half of the frame to pull within a run again at 6-5.
Manchester broke the game open in the ninth, scoring four runs on three hits. Earlham did not go away, however, as senior Brandon Smalling hit a three-run home run, cutting the deficit to a single run. Two groundouts gave the Spartans the win.
Both teams tallied 12 hits in game two. Senior Thomas Rea finished 3-5 with a run scored in the leadoff spot for the Quakers while Laird and Smalling finished with two hits each.
Sean Knepper and Tyler LaFollette led Manchester with three hits each.
Junior John Cornett took the loss, allowing six earned runs and eight hits while striking out two in 4.2 innings of work.
With the split and series win, Earlham stands at 18-6 overall and second place in the HCAC at 8-4. The Quakers will continue their home stand on Tuesday against Mount St. Joseph at 4 p.m.