BOURBON - Triton pounded out four runs in the first inning and added two insurance runs in the sixth to defeat LaVille on Monday 7-2.

Cory Monesmith drove in three runs with three hits. He hit two home runs and scored twice. Scott Blackford also hit a homer and Justin Grubbs improved to 5-0 on the season with a complete game.

Triton (16-2, 9-1) will be at Jimtown on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Squire Offense Still In High Gear

BY JASON KNAVEL, Times-Union Sports Writer

NORTH MANCHESTER - After dropping seven of their first 10 games, the Manchester Squires were struggling defensively. They had allowed 10 or more runs in eight of those opening games.

However, the Squires have gone 3-2 in the last five games, playing much better defensively. In the only game in which they allowed more than 10 runs over that stretch, a 12-7 loss to Rochester on Saturday, Manchester was missing all of its seniors because of a senior trip.

But the defense is not the only thing improving for the Squires. The offense has been practically unstoppable over that same span. Manchester scored 24 runs against Fort Wayne Canterbury and then came back two days later with 13 runs against Fort Wayne Harding.

So Manchester went into its second conference game of the season confident. Coach Jim Troyer knew that if they just played their type of game they could beat North Miami. Sure enough, Manchester led the entire game and won 10-7 Monday afternoon.

Jodie Peden pitched a complete game, scattering nine hits over seven innings and striking out five batters. She worked out of jams a number of times to keep North Miami from having that one big inning that could blow the game open and waited for the offense to take over. Sure enough, it did.

Peden worked out of a jam in the first inning. With one run already in and runners on second and third with just one out, she got Heather Monnot to foul out and Adrian Mygrant to pop out to second.

That opened the door for Manchester. The Squires scored three runs in the bottom of the first without a hit. Peden was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, then Katie Parker and Jamie Gillum both reached on errors, scoring two runs. Megan Sell drove in another run on a groundout to put Manchester ahead 3-1.

In the top of the third, Peden worked out of another jam. With one run already in and the bases loaded with just one out, Peden got Mygrant to ground out to Missy Miller at third. Miller got the force out at home to keep a run from scoring. Then Peden threw a wild pitch to the next batter, but the ball took a hard hop off of the backstop and the runner was easily thrown out trying to score from third.

Manchester added three more runs in the bottom of the third to go ahead 6-2, but North Miami came back with three in the top of the fourth.

In the bottom of the fourth, Manchester scored two runs on hits from Peden and Gillum, along with an error and a sacrifice to lead 8-5.

After allowing two runs in the fifth, Peden settled down and retired the last six batters to get the win.

"We've gone to a regular starting lineup," Troyer said.

Before the conference season started, Troyer would regularly play everyone to get experience for the freshman and younger players.

"Basically, our subs are position players," he said. "We've got pinch runners and we've got pinch hitters that will do the job when we need them. All the training that we've done is over now. We want to finish high in the conference, and we want to be ready to win our sectional."

Peden, Parker, and Michelle Gerber each had two hits. Sell drove in three runs on two sacrifices and a single.

Manchester (6-8, 1-1) has now won three of its last four games and will host Oak Hill on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. [[In-content Ad]]