NORTH MANCHESTER, IND. – Sophomore right-hander Devon Sheward (Marion, Ind.) made his first collegiate start something to remember Tuesday, April 26.

Sheward handcuffed the visiting Defiance College Yellow Jackets to five hits over six and a third frames, striking out two and allowing only two free passes. Meanwhile, he received plenty of support from the Spartans' offense, as junior center fielder Chad Schultz (Fair Oaks, Ind.) drilled a two-run single in the second inning, part of a three-run outburst over the first two frames. The fast start helped lead MU (19-14 overall, 13-7 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference) to concluding a regular season series sweep of DC (16-17 overall, 9-11 HCAC) behind a 9-4 victory at Gratz Field.

Schultz' two-run single wasn't the only thing a crowd of better than 100 had to cheer about. Senior catcher Elliott Ford (Rome City, Ind.) laced a solo home run to left field in the seventh, as he, freshman right fielder Tyler La Follette (Warsaw, Ind.) and Schultz all ended with two RBI in an eight-hit attack.

The Spartans, still standing second on the league leaderboard, take to the road Friday and Saturday, April 29, and Saturday, April 30, for a key conference clash with HCAC leader Rose-Hulman. First pitch times are 7 p.m. Friday and 12 p.m. Saturday at Art Nehf Field in Terre Haute.

NOTES: The victory increased Manchester University's win skein to 11 in a row and 15 of the last 16 in the series against Defiance College … Schultz and sophomore Lucas Gramman (Lawrenceburg, Ind.) each take seven-game hit streaks into the weekend, while the Black and Gold have won four of their last five … The program sits one win from its eighth straight 20-wins-or-more campaign.