SCORE: Manchester 9, Earlham 7
LOCATION: North Manchester, Indiana – Gratz Field
RECORDS: Earlham 15-10 / Manchester 10-14

NORTH MANCHESTER, Indiana – Earlham College baseball outhit Manchester University and put up some big innings late in response to the Spartans' crooked numbers early, but the Quakers came up short in a 9-7 loss to Manchester on Wednesday afternoon at Gratz Field.

Earlham had 13 hits to Manchester's eight, with six of the Quakers' hits going for extra bases including a pair of home runs off the bat of Maxwell Fries. Fries drove in five of Earlham's seven runs during the contest.

After the Quakers and the Spartans traded runs in the first inning, Manchester put up four runs in the bottom of the third to take a 5-1 lead. The Spartans manufactured four runs on two hits, a walk, and two Quaker errors, and no Manchester batter received credit for an RBI in the inning.

Manchester tacked on three more runs in the fourth to extend its lead to 8-1. Austin Knowles and Jacob Van Pelt each had RBI singles to aid the Spartan cause. The Spartans added a ninth run in the sixth inning on a Zach White sac fly to right field that allowed Knowles to cross.

The Quakers got three runs back in the seventh when Danny Dopp reached on a two-out single and went to third on Austin Hatfield's double to right field. Fries plated both runners with a home run to left-center field, cutting the Manchester lead to 9-4. Earlham added two more runs in the ninth when Hatfield sacrificed home Brian Pincura, who got aboard with a lead-off single. Fries belted his second round-tripper of the night on the next on the next at bat with a two-run shot that also scored Dopp.

Dopp finished the night 4-for-5 with a double, two runs scored, and a run batted in. Hatfield, Fries, and Christian Lancianese each had two hits. Phoenix Guzzi started on the mound for Earlham and took the loss after going three-and-a-third innings on the mound.

NEXT UP:
Earlham baseball will face Bluffton University on Saturday, April 17, at 1:00 p.m. in an HCAC doubleheader.