The Manhattan High baseball team defeated Washburn Rural in their first game of the double-header last Friday night 6-4. The second game was called off due to wind gusts and heavy rain that followed the first inning when the score was level at three. The remaining six innings will be played at a later date. 

“We did a good job of consistently winning innings,” senior Dayne Aschenbrenner said. “We took advantage of [Washburn’s] mistakes and capitalized on them.”

The Tribe wasn’t phased by Rural through six innings, but the seventh posed some challenges as the Blues rallied to put up their only four runs of the game.

“We let the lead off guy on base in the seventh inning,” Ashenbrenner said. “We have to not do that. If we didn’t do that we would’ve had an easier time finishing off the inning and game.”

Aschenbrenner was the lead man in shutting out Rural through six innings. 

“I think Dayne did a really good job of throwing strikes and letting our defense work behind him,” sophomore second baseman P.J. Hughes said. “Offensively, we put the ball in play a lot and really our whole lineup was just getting hits the whole day.”

The Indians are just getting started in their road to state glory in the 2021 season and it hasn’t quite been what they expected from the start. With a loss to Topeka High, the Indians were humbled according to the players, but they believe that will make them better on the path to their goals. 

“[We will continue to get wins] if everyone continues to do their job and play clean baseball,” Hughes said. “That’s when we’re at our best and we know we can beat anyone when we do those things.”

The Indians will be back in the action this Friday at Emporia looking for two wins in a double-header that will put them in a good spot to chase first place in West Kansas.