RICHMOND, IND. – Manchester University's quartet of senior shortstop Sean Knepper (Bremen, Ind.), junior first baseman Tailur Szarenski (Bluffton, Ind.), freshman right fielder Tyler La Follette (Warsaw, Ind.) and sophomore center fielder Eric Knepper (Bremen, Ind.) came up with a big offensive effort at a key time for the Black and Gold Sunday, April 10.

After battling the host Earlham Quakers to a pair of losses by four-runs-or-less in the first two games of their Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference series at Randal R. Sadler Stadium with tough-luck 3-0 and 8-4 defeats in tow, the Spartans (13-11 overall, 7-4 HCAC) kept themselves firmly within the league's top four with a 10-9 series-ending win. Sean Knepper, who upped his on-base streak to 31 straight games, and La Follette each went three-for-four with Knepper doubling, tripling and scoring four times and La Follette contributing three singles, two runs scored and two RBI. Around that duo, Szarenski crunched a home run as part of two hits while scoring twice and driving in four runs, and Eric Knepper wound up two-for-five.

The offensive attack in the doubleheader's second game made a winner out of sophomore pitcher Stephen Pinarski (Goshen, Ind.). Continuing impressive throwing out of the bullpen, he fired five innings with just one earned run surrendered on four hits to go with a pair of strikeouts and walks, picking up his third win that was aided by a two-out save by sophomore Mitch McDonald (Waterloo, Ind.) who extinguished a four-run last at-bat rally by the home side with a pop out and ground out. Fellow sophomore hurler Taylor Kopplin (Westport, Ind.), battling EC's Howie Smith tooth-and-nail in Saturday, April 9^th's game one despite the 3-0 loss, fired a gritty six and a third frames with four Ks and only two earned runs given up.

At series' end, both sides were nearly dead even statistically. The Black and Gold hit four percentage points better in batting average (.287-.283), the hosts scored six more runs (20-14) and MU closed the set with three more hits (31-28). Szarenski and La Follette's individual numbers led the visitors, as the junior hit .545 with six hits including a double and home run to drive in four runs, and the freshman tallied a .500 mark with six hits, three runs scored and four RBI.

Manchester University, sitting third on the loop standings just a game and a half behind first-place Rose-Hulman and a half-game behind Earlham for second, returns to Gratz Field Tuesday, April 12. They welcome league rival Anderson University for a 4:15 p.m. first pitch.