Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Ryan Manthei (Kenosha, Wis./Tremper H.S.) had two doubles and drove in three runs as Valparaiso won its second straight ball game on Wednesday afternoon, defeating Indiana Tech 5-1 at Emory G. Bauer Field.

Seven Crusader pitchers limited the Warriors to just five hits, while walking just two on the afternoon.

The game was scoreless until the bottom of the third when Colin Reynolds (Crookston, Minn./Central H.S.) singled home Kevin Perri (South Bend, Ind./Adams H.S.) with two outs to put the Brown and Gold on the board. Manthei then doubled over the rightfielder's head to score both John Guisti (Coventry, R.I./Coventry H.S.) and Reynolds.

Indiana Tech (20-17-1) scored its lone run in the seventh as Mark Heineman singled through the right side to score Tony Aldridge. Heineman finished the game 3-for-4.

Valpo added two insurance runs in the eighth, the first on a Manthei double that scored pinch hitter Matthew Augustine (Muskego, Wis./Muskego H.S.), who led off the inning with a single. Jon Rupno (Green Bay, Wis./Pulaski H.S.) added a two-out single to score Manthei with the game's final run.

Jay Clites (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer H.S.) earned the win for Valpo out of the bullpen while Jared Lease took the loss for Indiana Tech. For Clites, the win was the first of his collegiate career.

Valparaiso (6-18) will continue its homestand on Saturday afternoon with a Mid-Continent Conference doubleheader against Oral Roberts. First pitch against the preseason favorite is set for noon, with the game to be carried live on WVUR (95.1-FM, Valparaiso) and online at www.valpo.edu/athletics.