BASEBALL

The HU baseball team took a break from league play Tuesday afternoon to host Manchester (16-8) for a neighborly brawl that favored the visiting Spartans 13-3 in a shortened seven-inning affair. It marked the third meeting between the two programs in the last four years, with Huntington having claimed victory in the first two matchups.

All of the Foresters’ offense came in the third inning when Cam Clarkson launched a three-run homer to tie the game at 3-3. But Manchester answered back with authority, reclaiming the lead in the fifth by stretching it to 9-3. The Spartans tacked on three more runs in the sixth behind a pair of home runs and added one final score in the seventh to activate the run rule.

MU finished the day with 14 hits, including four long balls, while the Foresters were held to just five hits. Six HU pitchers saw action, with Jonathan Baker taking the loss after 1.1 innings of work in which he allowed two hits, three runs, and two walks.

Huntington (16-19) now shifts its focus back to league play as they prepare to host Grace for a weekend series beginning Friday at 3:00 p.m.