March 30, 2014
NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. - The Manchester University Spartans won a pair of close games on Sunday, March 30, 2014, to cap a weekend sweep of the Bluffton University baseball team. Bluffton fell to 7-11 overall and 0-6 in the Heartland Conference, while Manchester improved to 10-9 and 4-2 in the HCAC.
Bluffton knotted the game at 3-3 in the top of the eighth when senior Tim Webb (Delaware/Worthington Christian) doubled home Mike Castro (Reynoldsburg) with one out, but Manchester sandwiched a pair of two-baggers around a Bluffton error in the bottom of the frame to go ahead 5-3 thanks to a couple unearned runs.
Webb put Bluffton up 1-0 with an RBI single to right in the top of the first. Manchester answered with a tally in the bottom of the frame and two more in the third before a wild pitch allowed David Ianiro (Highland Heights/Mayfield) to make it 3-2 an inning later. Three straight scoreless frames set up the excitement in the eighth.
Webb (two RBI) and Ianiro both rapped two hits in game one. Ben Roeschley (Graymont, Ill./Flanagan) was the second Bluffton starter in as many days to work a complete game, following Nate Simonds who was on the hill Saturday afternoon. He allowed five runs, just one earned, on seven hits with five strikeouts. Roeschley worked eight innings and did not issue a free pass.
Four straight hits to open game two propelled Bluffton to a 4-0 advantage before Manchester took its first turn at the plate. Michael Alexander (Monroe) and Luke Hickey (Toledo/Whitmer) both laced singles, while seniors David Ianiro and Tim Webb sparked the offense with a couple two-baggers. A Clayton Siders (Delaware/Worthington Christian) groundout picked up Webb for the 4-0 lead.
Manchester cut its deficit in half before Bluffton made it 6-2 in the third following a two-run double by Webb. A wild pitch and another Webb RBI added up to a pair of Bluffton runs in the fifth, but back-to-back three-run frames for the home team made it 10-8 after five innings.
The Spartans tacked on insurance runs in the sixth and seventh before the Beavers pulled within three on a run-scoring single by Siders. Manchester's Josh Copp slammed the door in the ninth for his second save of the afternoon as Manchester held on for the 12-9 victory.
Ianiro and Hickey both went 4-of-5 with three RBI in the final game. Webb finished with three hits and three RBI, while Siders and Cade Randolph (Marengo/Highland) added two safeties apiece.
Freshman Dyson Bowman (Coshocton) fell to 0-3 after surrendering six runs on six hits in two innings on the hill.
The Beavers return to action on Tuesday, April 1, when they travel to rival Defiance College. The first pitch is slated for 4;15 p.m.
-BEAVERS-