UPLAND, IND. – Five Manchester University players ended with multiple-hit efforts Tuesday, March 7, leading the way during a non-conference match-up against perennial Crossroads League National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics' power Taylor University.
The Spartans, despite dipping to 0-4 on the young season, tried to rally back from a 10-run blitzkrieg by the host Trojans in the home half of the opening frame. Coach Rick Espeset's side closed the margin to 14-6 after plating three runs in the seventh but couldn't get any closer. Taylor, upping their season mark to 8-10, added five more tallies compared to the visitor's one for a 19-7 final.
Sophomore catcher Matt Pritz (LaPorte, Ind.) continued his impressive offensive output in the early season clouting a two-run double in the second as part of a two-for-two afternoon, with both being two-baggers, which saw his average rise to a team-leading and meteoric .571. Senior first baseman Tailur Szarenski (Bluffton, Ind.) and freshman second baseman Nick Rush (Terre Haute, Ind.) each clobbered three hits, while junior designated hitter Alec Trzeciak (Charlotte, Mich.) and junior outfielder Eric Knepper (Bremen, Ind.) tallied two hits along with Pritz as Trzeciak tripled and Knepper launched his first home run of the year and the 12th of his career to add to the Black and Gold's stockpile of six extra base safeties.
Manchester University is scheduled to resume its 2017 campaign with a three-game weekend set at Indianapolis' Bishop Chatard High School against North Coast Athletic Conference member DePauw University Saturday and Sunday, March 11 and 12. Game times are 12 p.m. Saturday for a doubleheader and 12 p.m. Sunday for a single nine-inning contest.