NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. – The Hanover baseball team picked up a key sweep of Manchester on Sunday afternoon, taking game one 8-7 before sweeping game two 8-1.
 
GAME ONE
 Hanover struck first in the contest as they posted a five spot in the top of the third inning to capture the early lead. Sophomore Cole Sherman (Indianapolis, Ind.) scored the first run of the afternoon as he singled to the pitcher. Senior Zeke Porta (Louisville, Ky.) provided the next blow as she hit a shot down the left field line that scored senior Matt Vetor (Pendleton, Ind.) pushing the difference to 2-0.
 
Junior Andrew Littlefield (Louisville, Ky.) deemed clutch at the plate as he charted an RBI single that scored another Panther run. The final two blows of the inning would come off the bat of freshman Alex Christie (Greenwood, Ind.) who singled through the left side scoring both Littlefield and Porta, 5-0.
 
However, the Spartans came storming back as they were able to score three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning cutting the deficit to 5-3.
 
The back-and-forth battle continued as Sherman charted another RBI in the top of the sixth that saw HC push the difference to 6-3.
 
Littlefield continued his impressive afternoon in the top of the seventh inning as he added a home run that saw the Blue and Red take the 7-4 advantage.
 
Manchester got as close as 7-6 when a sophomore Jake Brackett (Brownsburg, Ind.) RBI single in the top of the eighth secured the Panther victory.
 
Senior Eli Copner (Zionsville, Ind.) picked up the win on the mound as he pitched seven complete innings with five strikeouts.
 
GAME TWO
The Spartans captured the early lead in game two as a single up the middle in the bottom of the first inning saw them take the one run advantage.
 
However, Hanover responded in the third inning as a passed ball scored Vetor tying the contest at 1-1.
 
Porta provided the clutch hit in the top of the seventh inning as he sent a shot over the right center wall that that scored both Vetor and Sherman en route to the 4-1 lead.
 
The excitement continued for the Blue and Red as Brackett doubled down the right field line in the top of the eighth inning scoring another Panther run pushing the difference to 5-1. Freshman Eric Roudebusch (New Palestine, Ind.) provided the final blow of the inning as he hit an RBI single to center field blowing the game wide open 6-1.
The Panthers added two insurance runs in the eighth off RBI from Brackett and Roudebush befrore junior Charlie Burton (Columbus, Ind.) and freshman Connor Farnsley (Jeffersonville, Ind.) plated the final two runs in the top of the ninth inning for the 8-1 victory.
 
Freshman Jordan Parker (Evansville, Ind.) claimed the win on the mound pitching a complete game with seven strikeouts. He surrendered just one run in the contest.
 
Hanover returns to action on Wednesday, April 14 when they take on Mount St. Joseph. First pitch is slated for 6:00 PM.