Late-Inning Heroics Power MU to Two Victories over Huntington
Kody Smith
The 2018 home opener was a success for the Manchester University softball team, as the Spartans swept a double-header against the Huntington University Foresters on Saturday, March 10, winning both games via 7th-inning walk-off hits. MU took game one by a final of 6-5, followed by a contest that saw 23 combined runs, with the Spartans edging out the Foresters 12-11.
Senior Madisyn Walter started the afternoon on the mound, as the right-hander pitched a complete game in route to her first win of the season. Over her seven innings of work, Walter allowed nine hits and five earned runs, striking out two Foresters in the process. Although Huntington struck for five runs off of Walter, the MU offense provided the extra strength needed to secure a victory for the Spartans.
Manchester piled up 13 hits off of the Huntington pitching staff, which was led by a three hit effort by senior Sydney Thompson. Sophomore Makenzi Nyland crushed a solo homerun in the fourth inning, giving Manchester a 4-2 lead half way through the ball game.
However, in the top of the seventh, Huntington’s Abby Keaffaber hit a two-run shot to tie the game at 5-5. MU would respond with three consecutive hits, as the bases would be loaded with black-and-gold uniforms. First-year Alexis Mokos would stride to the plate, delivering her lone hit of the afternoon, as she found the grass in left center field, scoring senior Laurren Ladwig, and guiding MU to its first victory of the 2018 campaign.
The Spartans would fall behind early in game number two, as HU would strike for seven runs in the first two innings, securing a 7-2 lead heading into the bottom of the second. However, Manchester would explode for 18 hits in game number two, rallying to a 12-11 victory, thanks in large part to four homeruns.
Ladwig went four-for-five at the plate in game two, which included a two-run homerun in the first inning and a solo shot in the bottom of the fourth. She tallied four total RBI’s, as well as three runs scored. Nyland utilized her power once more in game two, going two-for-three with a solo homerun and two RBI’s. Thompson would add two hits in the game, including a clutch solo homerun in the top of the seventh to tie things up at 11-11.
Following two more MU at-bats, senior Mallorie Jennings would step into the batter’s box, lofting a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Ladwig to secure a 12-11 victory, and the two-game sweep of Huntington University.
Manchester is now 2-2 on the season, and is back in action on Sunday, March 18, as the team will travel to Orlando, Florida, for its annual spring break trip. The Spartans will play in ten games over a five-day stretch, concluding their trip on Friday, March 23.
The team will return home on Monday, March 26, for a double-header with St. Mary’s (Ind.) beginning at 3:30 p.m. Live audio will be provided for the March 26 contests at https://www.manchester.edu/spartanstudios/stream, with live statistics and video provided by muspartans.com.