Manchester University looks to break out of recent struggles Wednesday, April 18, as they start a stretch of five games in five days.
Game details: MU (14-15 overall, 4-6 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference) faces Defiance College (7-15 overall, 1-7 HCAC). The league twin bill at DC's Craig A. Rutter Field is set for a 1 p.m. start … Live statistics and video are available at www.muspartans.com, the Internet home of Manchester University athletics.
Spartan Shorts: Member of Coach Rick Espeset's team find themselves among the top 10 of the league numbers as the regular season winds down. Junior outfielder Tyler LaFollette (Warsaw, Ind.) (No. 8 - .381) and sophomore infielder Nick Rush (Terre Haute, Ind.) (No. 10 - .377) in batting average; senior outfielder Eric Knepper (Bremen, Ind.) (T-8th – three) in home runs; senior pitcher Taylor Kopplin (Westport, Ind.) (No. 4 – 43) in strikeouts/(T-5th – four) in wins; and the upperclassman bullpen duo of junior John Magers (Noblesville, Ind.) and senior Garrett Phelps (Covington, Ind.) (T-6th – two) in saves highlight the marks … The Black and Gold were upended in a pair of loop contests against conference co-leading Franklin College April 15 in their most recent outing. The high-powered Grizzlies' offense blasted 10 home runs between the two meetings in route to 18-7 and 20-2 victories. Sophomore outfielder Joe Gallatin (Muncie, Ind.) and sophomore infielder Isaiah Knight-Neraasen (Fort Wayne, Ind.) managed a pair of hits apiece in the opener, and LaFollette added a similar output in game two … The Spartans return home for the final time in 2018 Saturday and Sunday, April 21 and 22, for Senior Weekend. Mt. St. Joseph University and Wabash College visit Gratz Field for a 12 p.m. doubleheader (MSJ) Saturday and 1 p.m. single game (Wabash) Sunday.