By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
Last week was a busy but productive one for Coach Trey Meade and his Manchester Greyhounds baseball squad as the Hounds were In action four times in five days and came out on the winning side in three of those outings. Those three wins left the Greyhounds with an overall record of 8-6 overall, 7-3 in southern Hills Athletic Conference action and in a virtual three-way tie for first place in the small school division with Whiteoak (8-3) and Peebles (7-2). The Greyhounds are the defending champions in the small school division in 2025 with a 10-2 conference mark.
The week began for the Hounds on April 28 with a road trip to North Adams to battle the Green Devils in SHAC action. The hero of the game was Manchester senior Luke Applegate who was the winning pitcher, going 5.2 innings without allowing an earned run, At the plate, Applegate helped his own cause with a hand of twos, going 2 for 2 with two runs scored and two driven in, one of those hits being a home run. Scoring all of their runs int he third, fourth and fifth innings, the Hounds left Seaman with a 6-3 victory in their pocket.
Two days later, the Greyhounds were on their home field, facing the Fayetteville Rockets in another important small school match up. The Hounds used a six-run third inning that gave them the lead and a gritty pitching effort from senior Traevyn Hilderbrand to get past the visiting Rockets by a 7-5 final.
In that big third inning, Manchester got a single from Applegate that drove home a pair and a Carson Inman base hit that plated two more. Inman later scored on an error to give the Hounds a 6-4 advantage. In the bottom of the fourth, the home team took a three-run lead when Braylon Rickett singled to left and one out later, score on a wild pitch in the expansive territory behind home plate on the Hounds’ home field.
Fayetteville picked up one in the top of the fifth but that was all as Hilderbrand buckled down and retired the final six Rockets to finish off the complete game and pick up the “W”. The senior right hander went seven innings and gutted through 117 pitches, striking out eight Fayetteville hitters.
On Friday afternoon, the Greyhounds were the latest team to claim a lopsided run-rule victory over the Ripley Blue Jays as they blanked the visiting Jays 19-0 in five innings. The story of the day was Manchester freshman Bentley Colvin, who got the starting nod from Coach Meade, his first varsity start, and responded with a one-hit shutout that included 10 strikeouts.
At the plate, the Hounds battered Ripley pitching for 18 hits in just four at-bats, led by a perfect 3 for 3 performance from Clayton Colvin, who also scored three runs and drove in four. Braylon Rickett also had a three-hit day while Hilderbrand, Applegate, Inman and James Hackathorn all chipped in with two-hit days.
After those three important SHAC victories, the Greyhounds jumped into non-conference play on Saturday afternoon, hosting the Huntington Huntsmen. A likely tired bunch of Hounds played what would probably be considered a high school baseball marathon, battling for 10 innings with the Huntsmen before the visitors pulled out a 9-6 win.
The Hounds led after a four-run bottom of the third but couldn’t hang on as Huntington rallied to take a 5-4 lead in the top of the seventh only to see Manchester send the game into extra innings when a Carson Inman single drove home Clayton Colvin after Luke Applegate had been thrown out at the plate trying to score on Colvin’s base knock.
Neither teams cored int he sight but the Huntsmen pushed a single run across in the top of the ninth, again putting the Hounds’ backs to the wall and again they had an answer. In the bottom of the ninth, Landen Doyle led off the frame with an infield hit, moved to second on a Hilderbrand sacrifice, and later came home on a Clayton Colvin ground out.
That sent the game to a 10th stanza, where the Huntsmen scored three times and this time the home team had no answer. In the bottom of the 10th, the Greyhounds went down in order and visiting Huntington made the long trip worthwhile for them, taking home a 9-6 victory.
After their four-game week, the Greyhounds went into this week facing a trio of crucial SHAC contest that will likely go a long way in determining the small school champion. On Tuesday, the Hounds hosted the Peebles Indians, whom they defeated 6-5 back on April 9. On Thursday, Manchester will host Whiteoak, with the Wildcats having an April 7 2-0 win over the Hounds. On Friday, Coach Meade’s squad will again be at home, this time to face the Fairfield Lions. The Hounds and Lions met back on April 16 with Manchester claiming an 11-6 triumph. If the Hounds pull off the trifecta this week, they will defend their small school title.
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