NORTH MANCHESTER, IND. – Three home runs sparked Manchester University to a key Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference split Monday, April 6.

Facing off against defending league champion Anderson University at Spartan Field, the Black and Gold bats came out early and often in the opener. Senior shortstop Emily Willmann (Montpelier, Ind.) clouted a two-run shot over the fence in left center field, while freshman second baseman Laurren Ladwig (Crown Point, Ind.) hit a solo blast to right center field in the third, and junior outfielder Ashley Stahl (Wheatland, Ind.) crunched a two-run shot to right field in the bottom of the fifth that turned out to be the game decider in a 7-5 victory. Junior catcher Kaile Niezgodski (South Bend, Ind.) and senior outfielder Shannon Stephan (Granger, Ind.) each added two safeties to the home team's 10-hit total.

Senior pitcher Ashlea Nash (Gas City, Ind.), relieving sophomore starter Anna Schillinger (Fort Wayne, Ind.), picked up the win. She blanked the Ravens (11-5 overall, 3-1 HCAC) on three hits over the final two and thirds to gain her seventh win of the season.

In search of the home sweep, MU (9-8 overall, 4-2 HCAC) was stopped by the AU pitching duo of junior Hannah Belvo and sophomore Megan Wade. They limited the Spartans' offense to a single hit, off the bat of sophomore Chloe Hensley (South Bend, Ind.) in the bottom of the seventh, while striking out six. AU claimed the nightcap 8-0, using a three-run home run in the top of the third to break up a scoreless tie.

Manchester University, just a game out of first on the tightly-packed HCAC standings, resumes its conference calendar Thursday, April 9. Rose-Hulman is scheduled to visit Spartan Field for a 3:30 p.m. doubleheader.

 NOTES: Willmann's two-run shot in the opener and two walks in game two helped add two more games to her increasing on-base streak. She's now reached in 23 straight contests … Ladwig's game one round tripper helped her extend an impressive skein of four successive outings with a home run … The recent series history stayed close with the split, as AU holds a 9-7 edge in the last six seasons.