RICHMOND, Ind. – The No. 4 seeded Earlham College Quakers knocked out the No. 7 seeded Manchester Spartans in the Opening Round best-of-3 series of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament this weekend.

The Quakers held on for a 7-6 victory in Game 1 on Friday evening before rallying for a 9-8 triumph in extra innings in Game 2 on Saturday afternoon.

Game 1 – Earlham def. Manchester 7-6 – Box Score
Game 2 – Earlham def. Manchester 9-8 in 10 Innings – Box Score

How it Happened:

* Earlham jumped out to a 7-2 advantage in Game 1 behind strong starting pitching from Joey Gerbus. Gerbus pitched into the 8^th inning before the Black & Gold were able to chase him after scoring 3 runs in the frame.
* Manchester added another run in the 9^th inning; however, Quaker reliever Michael Domanick was able to strand the tying run at first to secure his eighth save of the season.
* Zach White (Logansport, Ind./Logansport) and Aidan Stevens (Rensselaer, Ind./Rensselaer) led the Spartans in Game 1 on Friday with two hits apiece.
* Four different Spartans tallied RBI.
* Game 2 on Saturday provided all drama that comes with postseason baseball.
* The Spartans sprinted out of the gates by scoring a pair of runs in the 1^st and 3 runs in the 4^th.
* Jacob Van Pelt (Parker City, Ind./Delta) hit a 2-run double to left center to get the Spartans on the board.
* RBI singles by Brett Kron (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) and Aidan Stevens, along with a passed ball that allowed a third run to score, gave the Spartans a 5-2 lead through four innings of play.
* The Black & Gold added 2 more runs in the 6^th inning via a wild pitch and a sac fly.
* Joe Henschel (Huntertown, Ind./Carroll) would add an insurance run for Manchester in the top of the 8^th inning after doubling home Paul Barrow (Bloomington, Ind./Bloomington North).
* Leading 8-3, the game's momentum shifted dramatically as Earlham put together a furious, game-tying rally in the home half of the 8^th inning.
* After a run scored via a wild pitch, EC's Marc Gendreau hit an RBI double to right. Cameron McCabe then delivered a run scoring single to right before, Danny Dopp, Earlham's all-time hit and RBI leader, cranked a game-tying 2-run home run to center.
* Earlham then provided the game's decisive moment in the bottom of the 10^th inning. After back-to-back singles, Devin Basley was able to score the game's winning run after an error in the field by the Spartans.
* Manchester concludes its season with a record of 19-22. Earlham will advance to next weekend's double-elimination knockout round of the HCAC Tournament.