RICHMOND, Ind. – The Earlham College baseball team scored three wins over Manchester University on Senior Day to keep its hold of first place in the HCAC standings heading into the final week of competition.
GAME ONE: EARLHAM 14 MANCHESTER 0 (7 Innings, Resumed from Friday evening)
The first game of the day picked up where the rain started last night with an 8-0 lead in the third inning.
Cayman Huntsman pitched all seven innings through the 15-hour rain delay to pick up the win. The junior allowed just one hit and held a shutout for his fourth win of the season. Huntsman also set a new career-high with eight strikeouts.
Chris Barnett went 3-3 with a double, four runs scored and an RBI.
Dylan Rieck went 2-3 with three runs scored.
After threatening in the first inning, the Quakers scored six runs in the bottom of the second on Friday as the rain began to fall in Sadler Stadium.
Jonathan Jimenez hit a two-run double in the inning to give the Quakers a 4-0 lead. Earlham sent nine batters to the plate with six hits.
Mitchell Roether brought in the final runs on Friday with a two-RBI double to center field for an 8-0 lead in the third inning.
The Quakers returned to action in the bottom of the third inning on Saturday after an overnight delay for rain.
After a bases-loaded balk brought home a run in the bottom of the fifth inning, Roether tallied an RBI on a groundout for a 10-0 lead. Earlham then tacked on four runs on four hits in the bottom of the sixth inning. Barnett hit an RBI-single to score a run, and then another balk brought in
Austin Dick after Earlham loaded the bases.
Dylan Rieck came home on a wild pitch, and Jimenez brought in the final run of the game with an RBI-triple to the right-center gap.
GAME TWO: EARLHAM 6 MANCHESTER 3
Kyle Jeffries earned the win in the second game of the series, throwing five innings with no earned runs and one strikeout.
Hayden Scalf picked up a save with four innings pitched and one earned run.
Jackson McFarland went 2-3 with three RBI and a double. Jeffries tallied two hits with two runs scored, a triple and an RBI.
Jeffries led off the game with a single in the bottom of the first inning. After a pair of ground balls, McFarland hit a sacrifice fly to center field for the first run of the contest.
Manchester hit three straight one-out singles in the top of the third inning, and scored a run on a ball in the infield that was missplayed by the Quaker defense. A sacrifice fly then gave the Spartans a 2-1 lead.
Noah Wagster tied the game in the bottom of the frame with a sacrifice fly with Roether on third base.
Earlham then added three runs on two hits in the bottom of the fourth inning. Barnett earned a two-out walk, and stole second base. The freshman infielder then scored on a program-record 13th career triple by Jeffries to put the Quakers back on top. With the bases loaded, McFarland hit a two-run single to center field and Earlham took a 5-2 lead.
Rieck hit a two-out solo home run the opposite way in the bottom of the fifth inning for a 6-2 lead. The Spartans scored their final run of the game in the top of the ninth inning after a leadoff single and two stolen bases.
GAME THREE: EARLHAM 13 MANCHESTER 3 (7 Innings)
Casey Blevins went a complete seven innings in the final game of the weekend for the win. The sophomore allowed two earned runs in eight hits with two strikeouts.
Wagster led the team at the plate in the finale with two hits, a triple, two runs scored and three RBI.
Jeffries hit a leadoff single in the bottom of the first, and scored on a two-run home run to right field by McFarland. The Quakers added an extra run on a wild pitch with the bases loaded for a 3-0 lead.
Evan Duncan made his first start of the weekend in game three, and hit a two-run single to cap off the bottom of the first.
Manchester scored two runs on three hits in the top of the second.
Austin Dick opened the third inning with an infield single, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Rieck. The Quakers plated three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning after a leadoff single by Jimenez. Roether brought home a run with an RBI-double, and Wagster hit an RBI-single for an 8-2 lead. The left fielder came home to score after stealing third base and forcing a bad throw by the catcher for the final run of the inning.
After a leadoff walk by Rieck in the bottom of the seventh,
Tyson Stratton came in as a pinch runner. The freshman backstop came around, and scored on a series of wild pitches by the Spartans.
Ian Bullis hit a pinch-hit sacrifice fly to score Jeffries, and Wagster ended the game early with a two-run triple to left-center field.
The Quakers host Capital University on Tuesday evening for their final non-conference action of the season. The regular season finale comes on Saturday at Mount St. Joseph University with a doubleheader at the Lions starting at 12 pm. The Quakers have clinched at least a top-two spot in the final conference standings, and will push for the No.1 seed with a sweep on Saturday.
