The Mavericks of Manchester Academy kicked off the postseason with a 15-10 win over Winona Christian in game one of their first-round series.
It was a high-scoring affair in which the Stars struck first, scoring two runs in the top of the first inning to take a 2-0 lead.
The Stars stretched their lead out further in the top of the second inning
In the bottom of the second inning, Manchester’s offense woke up.
Hits and errors helped Manchester score two runs and put some men on base.
With the bases loaded and the score tied at 3-3, Blayke Dendy stepped up to the plate at hit a double to bring home two runs, giving Manchester a 5-3 lead.
The Mavericks came back in the bottom of the third inning and tacked on five more runs to extend their lead to a commanding 10-3.
When it seemed that the Mavs would simply run away with it, the Stars heated back up in the top of the fourth inning, scoring four runs to cut Manchester’s lead to 10-7.
But Manchester’s squad this season is a resilient one.
They put up two runs in the bottom of the fifth and three runs in the bottom of the sixth to push their lead back up to 15-7.
Winona Christian scrapped and fought in the seventh inning and even scored three runs, but it wasn’t enough.
The Mavericks took game one 15-10.
Manchester scored 15 runs on nine hits thanks to eight errors on the part of Winona.
Chris Guthrie locked up his 11th win of the year of the mound for the Mavericks, giving up six runs (five ER) on two hits with seven walks and six strikeouts.
Blayke Dendy had a huge offensive game in the win, going 2-for-3 with a single, a double, a walk, and four RBI.
Dylan Dendy went 1-for-4 with two RBI and three runs scored.
Ty Kilpatrick had a 2-for-4 day at the plate with two RBI and a run scored. Kilpatrick also pitched three innings in relief, giving up two earned runs on three hits with one walk and two strikeouts.
Will Fouche went 1-for-4 with a triple, an RBI, and a run scored.
Rainer Roberts went 2-for-4 with an RBI and three runs scored.
Link Greenlee scored three runs and had an RBI in the victory.
Game two in the series was played on Thursday, but it was not completed by press time.
Check out Wednesday’s edition of The Yazoo Herald for more Manchester baseball coverage.
