Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
NORTH MANCHESTER -ÊIt's a great day to be a Spartan baseball player. In fact, it's been a great year to be a member of the Manchester squad.
After winning the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament last weekend, the Manchester College baseball team earned an automatic berth in the Division III Mideast Regional beginning today at Wooster College in Ohio. It is the second time in three years the Spartans have earned a spot in the regional.
The Spartans, seeded No. 2 overall in the regional, took the field at 11 a.m. today against No. 3 seed Heidelberg College. No. 1 seed Wooster faced off against No. 4 seed Albion College at 3 p.m.
The winner of the double-elimination tournament advances to the Div. III World Series in Appleton Wisconsin May 28-June 1.
"When you look at the stats, Heidelberg is not a powerhouse," said Spartan assistant coach Justin Bergman. "They like to bunt and move the runners. Heidelberg is a pretty good team. They were in the losers bracket and beat No. 9 Marietta twice to advance to the regional."
The berth in the regional is icing on the cake for the Spartans this season. The Manchester squad finished the regular season with a mark of 32-10, recording the most wins in school history. The Spartans also won the HCAC regular season with a 16-5 record, good enough to place second on the all-time HCAC regular season wins list behind Franklin College's 17.
Manchester also became the first team in 10 years to win both the HCAC regular-season title and the conference tournament in the same season.
Along with the team honors Manchester has garnered so far this season, several individual Spartans have earned recognition as well. Ten Manchester players made the HCAC All-Conference list, and Spartans fill eight of the top 22 spots on the HCAC list.
Seniors Jared Kurtz (catcher), Brian Minix (shortstop), Eric Screeton (third base), Josh Brock (outfield), sophomores Ryan Seal (second base), Dan Sprunger (pitcher), and freshmen Scott Tarnowski (outfield) and Tyler Wolfe (pitcher) were named to the all-conference list.
Wolfe was also named the HCAC Freshman of the Year after earning a 9-2 record with an ERA of 1.89 in 15 games. In 76.1 innings of work, Wolfe tossed 70 strikeouts.
Manchester head coach Rick Espeset got in on the action as well, sharing HCAC Coach of the Year honors with Shayne Stock of Transylvania University. It is the second time Espeset has earned the honor; he was named Coach of the Year in 1998.
Ryan Carr (senior firstbaseman) and Warsaw High School graduate Adam Augustine (junior pitcher) were named to the HCAC Honorable Mention list.
All honors aside, the Spartans know they have a job to do.
"I think we have as good a shot as anyone to win the regional," said Espeset. "The regional is similar to our conference tournament. The only difference here is that there are four league champions playing to move on."
The Spartans also have a group of experienced players who competed in the regional two years ago and have provided strong leadership all season long.
"I think our biggest strength is our leadership," said Bergman. "We have seven guys in the program who have played all four years, and they have done an excellent job this season. Several of them played together this summer as well, and I think that has been a key to our success. A lot of players at our level don't get that opportunity."
Another key for the Spartans this season has been strong pitching.
"Our pitching has been awesome this year," said Bergman. "We start a trio of lefties. Right now our No. 1 is Tyler Wolfe. He has a very resilient arm.
"Adam Augustine is our No. 2, and he is a crafty lefty. He has a nice offspeed pitch that throws batters off.
"And our No. 3 right now is Dan Sprunger, who started off the season in middle to long relief. He developed into a starter for us, and he is really smart on the mound."
The Spartans left for Ohio Wednesday morning, practiced at Wooster in the afternoon and hit the firld for their first game today at 11 a.m. The Spartans will hit the field again Friday, but game time and opponent will depend on the outcome of today's contests.
