Manchester Academy’s Mavericks finished off the regular season with a 9-2 win over Central Hinds on Tuesday night.
The win brought Manchester’s overall record to 15-5 on the year.
It was essentially a chance to fine tune their play before the playoffs, but the Mavericks still had every intention of taking a winning streak into the postseason.
The Mavericks kicked things off with a bang, scoring two runs in the top of the first inning to take a 2-0 lead.
Pitching and defense picked up from that point forward.
For the next two innings, the scoring halted completely.
In the top of the fourth inning, the Mavericks added another run to their lead to make it a 3-0 game.
And in the top of the fifth, they added one more run to push their lead to 4-0.
But the Stars finally responded in the bottom of the fifth inning, where they scored a run to cut Manchester’s lead to 4-1.
In the sixth inning, defense and pitching reigned supreme once more, as no run was scored.
Manchester’s offense finally exploded in the top of the seventh inning. They put up five runs to take a commanding 9-1 lead with three outs to go.
Winona scored one final run in the bottom of the seventh inning, but it was nowhere near enough.
Manchester won the contest 9-2.
The pitching staff for Manchester combined to give up only one hit and two unearned errors.
Chris Guthrie won his ninth game of the year on Tuesday night to give him a 9-1 record. He went four full innings, walking five and striking out eight while giving up no hits and no runs. Guthrie also had a 2-for-2 day at the dish with a double, two walks, an RBI, and two runs scored.
Will Fouche came in for two outs in relief action to earn the save, walking three and striking out one in the process. Fouche also went 2-for-3 at the plate with a double, an RBI, and a run scored.
Ty Kilpatrick threw 2.1 innings in relief, giving up two unearned runs on one hit with two strikeouts. He also went 2-for-5 with a triple, an RBI, and a run scored.
Blayke Dendy went 1-for-2 with three walks, an RBI, and a run scored.
Link Greenlee went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.
Cade Potter went 1-for-5 with an RBI in the winning effort.
Manchester Academy’s playoff run begins on Tuesday when Winona Christian comes to town.
On April 17, the Mavericks defeated Winona Christian 6-0.
