Spartans Escape Defiance with 7-5 Win

DEFIANCE, Ohio  --  Manchester used a pair of home runs and a Defiance error to plate seven runs on only five hits as it edged the Yellow Jackets, 7-5, on Tuesday at Craig Rutter Field. DC pounded out 10 hits, but stranded 11 runners on the base paths in the loss.

Aaron Stewart started the game on the mound for Defiance and kept the Jackets close through his seven innings. The righty hurler allowed five earned runs on five hits and retired five Spartan hitters on strikes.

The majority of Manchesters damage against Stewart came via the long ball as Matty Miller and John Smolinski left the yard to account for all five of the earned runs allowed by Defiance in the game. Millers blast gave Manchester a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, while Smolinski cracked a three-run homer in the fourth to give MC the 5-3 advantage.

Defiance was swinging the bats well all day, totaling 10 hits against three different Manchester pitchers. The Jackets did not waste any time answering Millers shot, as Kirk Jesse led off the inning with a double into the left center gap. Ben Gates then cut the lead in half with a single down the left field line to score Jesse.

Gates then started the rally in the third inning, singling and stealing second before scoring on a David Jackson single. The Jackets would later score another run on a Brad Timofeev ground out to take the 3-2 lead.

Smolinskis home run in the fourth put Manchester back on top, but Defiance got an RBI from Keith Wade in the fifth and tied the game at 5-5 in the sixth. The Jackets loaded the bases with two outs, before a wild pitch allowed Casey Kahsen to race home with the tying run.

Defiance seemed to have the momentum heading into the seventh inning, but a fielding miscue with two outs turned the game back in the visiting teams favor. With a pair of runners on base and two outs, Stewart got Josh Buell to hit a fly ball to left center which dropped when Brent James and Trey Harris collided on the play.

DC just missed drawing even once again in the eighth, as a potential game-tying blast off the bat of Tim Pitro was hauled in on the warning track. The Jackets would not threaten in the ninth and suffered the 7-5 defeat.

Defiance (5-16, 1-11 HCAC) will continue its five-game homestand on Friday when it begins a three-game series against Rose-Hulman. First pitch is scheduled for 4:00 pm at Rutter Field.