LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Manchester University softball team concluded the 2023 season after falling to the Franklin Grizzlies in the second elimination game of the 2023 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Softball Tournament on Friday, May 12.
The #4 seeded Spartans fell to the #3 seeded Grizzlies by a final score of 11-3 in six innings.
SPARTAN STATS
- Manchester scored three unearned runs in the top of the third inning to take a 3-0 lead against the Grizzlies. Franklin would take the lead following an RBI single in the fifth inning. The Grizzlies would score seven more runs in the sixth inning while holding the Spartans to just five hits in route to a 11-3 victory to move on in the HCAC Softball Tournament.
- Designated player Alee Eaker (Lowell, Ind., Lowell) went 1-2 at the plate for the Spartans.
- Lexi Goodman (Poplar, Ill. , North Boone ) picked up an extra base hit, a double down the first base line in the top of the third inning. Goodman also went 1-2 at the plate with one run scored for the Black and Gold.
- Kaitlyn Carr (Valparaiso, Ind., Chesterton) pitched 4.0 innings for the Spartans, scattering six hits while striking out one batter.
Head coach
Sara Emerich's program reached the HCAC Tournament for the first time since the 2018 season, finishing the 2023 season with an overall record of 23-20 and 10-6 in HCAC play. The last time the Black and Gold won 20 or more games in a single season was back in 2016. The Spartans' 353 hits on the season set a new Manchester school record for number of hits by a team in a single season, beating the record previously set by the 1999 team by two hits. The 2023 team is also ranked sixth all-time in RBI with 183 and ninth all-time in runs scored with 216 this season.
