The Manchester College Spartan baseball team opened their 2008 season by traveling to sunny Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, last week for a series of baseball games. The team left on Feb. 28 and didn’t return until late Sunday night on March 2. They traveled there to play five games against four different teams: Alma College, Rivier College, Wesley College and Concordia (MI) University.

  
“We take this trip to get our kids out of the gym,” said Spartans head coach Rick Espeset. “We have such a late spring break that it is extremely helpful to get these games in early.”

  
The Spartans dropped their first game of the season on Thursday against a very tough Concordia University-Ann Arbor team. The Concordia Cardinals beat Manchester in a tight game 4-2. The Spartans put up a valiant effort against the team that finished their trip 6-0 for the week.  Matt Holycross was on the mound for the Spartans for 6 ½ innings.  Shawn Baker led the Spartan offensive attack going 3 for 3 with 1 RBI. Other notable players for the game were Jeff Mendenhall who went 3-4 with a run, and Josh Buell who went 1-3 with a run.

  
The Spartans picked up their first win of the season Friday against the Alma College Scots. Manchester beat Alma 10-3 in the first game of their doubleheader on Friday. Colin Denihan led the Spartans on the mound, picking up his first win of the year, throwing seven strikeouts in seven innings. The bats were cracking for the Spartans as they scored 10 runs led by sophomore Kaz Kalita who went 3-4 with a triple, and Corey Oetting who went 2-4 with a triple. Danner Partridge scored two runs for the Spartans.

  
Manchester split their doubleheader by losing again to Concordia University. The Spartans didn’t fare as well this time around as they lost 7-0. Shaun Carrico led the charge on the mound, while Heath Williams, Josh Buell, and Andy Hughes picked up Manchester’s only hits.

  
Manchester College head baseball coach Rick Espeset picked up the 300th win of his coaching career on Saturday with a win in the first game of their doubleheader against the Rivier College Raiders hailing from New Hampshire. The Spartans beat the Raiders soundly, 12-2. Derek Hanson picked up the win for the Spartans, pitching five innings and only allowing three hits. Everyone that stepped up to the plate for the Spartans had a run against the Raiders. Manchester was led by Corey Oetting who went 2-4 with two runs and two RBI’s, and Shawn Baker who went 1-4 with a run and 3 RBI’s. Adam Piotrowicz also had a good game going 2-4 with two runs and an RBI.

  
The trip ended for Manchester on a sour note. They lost their last game to the Wesley College Wolverines, 6-4. Wesley ended their trip undefeated and the Spartans made them earn their victory. The Spartans didn’t go down without a fight though. Wes Bucher and Curtis Mallery split time on the mound with Bucher picking up the loss for the Spartans. Each allowed five hits. Manchester combined for seven hits at the plate compared to Wesley’s seven hits. Matty Miller led the Spartans hitting the ball three out of the four times he was at bat. He also had one run and one RBI.

  
Manchester College faced a variety of Division III teams from all over the nation during their trip. “The level of competition was solid,” Espeset said. “Concordia is a fully funded NAIA program and Wesley won 30 games last year. Alma is well coached and Rivier has twelve seniors and pitched a kid who will be playing professional baseball later this spring.” Although the Spartans may have had higher goals for the week, they still showed the nation that they are a team to be reckoned with. “Overall, I thought we played pretty well,” Espeset said.  “ I saw a lot of positive things.”

  
The Spartans are currently 2-3 on the year and will return to action Sunday at home with a game against DePauw University.

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