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Sports

MHS Baseball Keeps on Rolling

The Manchester High baseball team notched an away 6-5 win at E.O. Smith Monday.

With the score 6-5, and runners on first and second with one out, E.O. Smith baseball coach Nick Wheelock decided to take a chance.

“When you want to win games like this you need to have a little luck,” Wheelock said. “To score runs, we knew we had to be aggressive.”

Wheelock sent both Panther runners on the full count. Dave Keplesky swung and missed, and Manchester’s Mike Spencer gunned down Alex LeFevre to end E.O. Smith's home opener with a 6-5 loss. The Panthers dropped to 0-2 on the year with the loss to the Indians at Farrell Field. E.O. Smith was down 4-0 through the first four and a half innings, but exploded with five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to take the lead.

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“What we did was we didn’t give up,” Wheelock said. “We have some kids that are tough.”

After scoring one run in the first, Manchester opened the game up in the third and fourth innings. Manraj Sandhu had a two-RBI double in the top of the third inning to give the Indians a 3-0 lead. In the top of the fourth, Justin Kaeser was in a bases loaded jam. Jeff Cate hit a ground ball to Hunter Hamlin at third base, Hamlin tried to outrun Sean Corcoran to the base but was too late. Manchester scored on the play making it 4-0, but that’s when the Panthers started to rally.

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Kaeser brought home Kyle McMahon, Matt Taiman and Ryan Ouimette with a bases clearing triple in the bottom of the fifth to cut the deficit to 4-3. Later in the inning, Chad Vincente walked, and Keplesky’s infield single scored Kaeser to tie the game at four. The next batter Hamlin, singled to left and scored Vincente to give E.O. Smith the lead. But they would not hold onto it.

McMahon was called upon for relief work with the lead for E.O. Smith, but he ran into trouble immediately. Travis Mistretta singled and then Cate followed with a single of his own. Spencer blasted an RBI double to left-center field. McMahon intentionally walked Brian Nessing to load the bases. Then Zach Mack plated the winning run with a sacrifice fly that scored Mistretta.

Manchester coach March DiDominzio said that after E.O. Smith took the lead there were some nerves in the Indians’ dugout.

“There was some doubt, they had the momentum and took the lead so late in the game,” DiDominzio said. “When we have a team down 4-0 we have to step on their throats a little bit.”

In the seventh inning, Manchester threatened again, but McMahon worked his way out of a bases loaded jam unscathed. In the bottom half, after Kaeser struck out looking, LeFevre hit a single to right field. After Brian Cheney walked, it set up decision time for Wheelock, which didn’t work out for the Panthers.

Mack received the win for the Indians and Nolan Cardwell came on for the save. McMahon picked up the loss for E.O. Smith. 

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