NORTH MANCHESTER – Six Manchester University batters compiled multiple-hit efforts in a 18-4 win over Bluffton University in game two of a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader Sunday. MU, wrapping up a second straight conference series win, pounded Bluffton pitching to the tune of 20 hits in the nightcap. Four home runs were included in the blitzkrieg, as sophomore third baseman Austin Rybicki clouted two round trippers and senior utility player Nick Latham and senior shortstop Sean Knepper added long balls as well. The game two victory helped the Spartans stay a half-game behind Rose-Hulman in the league standings. It also offset a big BU comeback in game one, as the visitors scored eight runs over the final three innings to win 10-4. Bluffton didn’t stop there, either, tallying a four-run first inning rally in game two, but the Black and Gold answered with 13 runs over the second through fourth frames. Warsaw Community High School alum and Manchester freshman right fielder Tyler La Follette led the individual outputs in game two, going 4-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBI. The trio of junior first baseman Tailur Szarenski Knepper and sophomore second baseman Hunter Lane ended with three hits each, and Rybicki and senior catcher Elliott Ford gathered two hits each. The offensive cavalcade aided a masterful bullpen outing from sophomore Stephen Pinarski. After the visitors knocked out sophomore starter Mitch McDonald by piling up the four-run first inning attack, Pinarski entered and limited the Beavers to just one hit over six and a third frames while striking out six. Despite the game one defeat, the Spartans’ offense did have bright spots. Junior left fielder Chad Schultz went four-for-five with two runs scored and an RBI, while LaFollette and Knepper collected a pair of two-hit contests each. Manchester University (11-9 overall, 5-2 HCAC) closes a span of five straight home games Tuesday when Defiance College of Ohio visits North Manchester with a 4:15 p.m. first pitch. NOTES: The Spartans’ four home runs resumed an impressive recent run, as they’ve hit three or more in three of the last four contests … Knepper upped his on-base streak to 27 straight games as he turned in multiple-hit efforts in both ends of the doubleheader … The weekend series victory saw MU defeat BU for the 23rd times in 29 series match-ups.
