Jackets Let Early Lead Slip Away to Manchester

DEFIANCE, Ohio – Bobby Pardun and Brent James laced two-out singles in the bottom of the first inning to push Defiance to a 2-1 lead against Manchester on Tuesday afternoon but the Spartans rallied for the 11-3 conference win at Rutter Field.

The quick start for the Yellow Jacket bats quickly faded, as DC did not crack the scoring column again until Alex Timofeev doubled home Brad Kremer in the sixth inning. The score stopped a streak of 10-unanswered runs by Manchester, as the visitors scored in each of the first six frames to blow the game open.

The double was the first of two on the day for Timofeev, who turned in DC's lone multi-hit performance at the plate and reached base three times. Pardun continued his recent hot streak by collecting a hit and drawing two walks. Pardun also added a stolen base, an RBI and a run scored to fuel the opening inning rally for the Jackets and now leads the squad with a .389 on-base percentage.

Defiance (5-21, 1-10 HCAC) will now head to Anderson (16-7, 6-3 HCAC) for a weekend series. The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference set will begin with a single game on Friday at 4:00 pm.