NORTH MANCHESTER, IND. – Manchester University tallied a five-run rally over its final two at-bats in game one Saturday, April 18, and didn't look back in route to a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference sweep.

Locked in a back and forth affair with visiting Transylvania University in the opener at Spartan Field, a towering home run to left field off the bat of junior first baseman MacKenzie Williams (Kendallville, Ind.) in the fifth and an RBI single from freshman infielder Laurren Ladwig (Crown Point, Ind.) coupled with an RBI ground out by sophomore infielder Emilee Liston (Cicero, Ind.) to spotlight a three-run sixth helped lead to a 10-4 win. Sophomore pitcher Anna Schillinger (Fort Wayne, Ind.) benefitted from the offensive outburst, picking up her third win of the year with three strikeouts in a complete-game effort.

Game two saw the Spartans (13-10 overall, 8-4 HCAC) pick up early where they left off. A pair of runs crossed with the help of a Pioneers' error in the first, while freshman designated player Mallorie Jennings (Bourbon, Ind.) laced a run-scoring triple in the second, and Williams lined a run-scoring single to left in the third to help MU build a 4-1 lead after three innings. Despite being held scoreless from that point by TU senior pitcher Chelsea Phariss, MU senior hurler Ashlea Nash (Gas City, Ind.) was just as tough on the visiting offense, allowing only six hits and a walk while striking out three for a complete-game 4-2 victory.

Ladwig and senior left fielder Shannon Stephan (Granger, Ind.) led the overall offensive numbers for the afternoon. Stephan, behind a three-for-three game two outing, ended with four hits in five at-bats. Ladwig, homering for the eighth time this season, finished with three hits and two RBIs.

The sweep, increasing the Black and Gold's current win string to four, moved Manchester University into a tie for second with Bluffton University on the league standings. Both teams' standing at 8-4 trail defending champion and league-leading Anderson University by just a game in the loss column.

The Spartans return to action Wednesday, April 22. They travel to BU for a critical conference doubleheader set for a 3:30 p.m. start.

NOTES: Nash concluded a sparkling week with the game two win. She finished 3-0 in three appearances with a 1.43 earned run average, two complete games and only three earned runs surrendered. Her record improved to 10-4 on the season making her the first double-digit winning hurler for MU since former all-HCAC standout Maureen Lund won 12 games in 2012 … A scheduled league doubleheader versus Rose-Hulman, set for Sunday, April 19, was postponed to Sunday, April 26. It will serve as the program's Senior Day doubleheader.