The Manual baseball team suffered a heartbreaking loss to Christian Academy of Louisville (CAL) in a tough-fought battle to advance in the semifinals of the Region 7 tournament. The final score was 9-5.

“We came out with some nerves,” Head Coach Matt Timbario said. “We didn’t play Manual baseball.”

The Crimsons struggled in the beginning of the game, allowing CAL to take advantage of the team’s errors to score two runs in the first inning. The first was an overthrown ball to first base by Tate McGarvey (12, #23), and the second was a passed ball by Keenan Bilyeu (10, #30).

CAL then scored the third run of the inning on a missed ground ball in center field. But a quick double play by Aaron Sary (9, #20) helped get Manual back on track by the end of the inning.

The Crimsons struck back in the bottom of the first. A hit by Sary went all the way to third base off of two consecutive CAL errors, bringing home Jarrett Harness (12, #4) and Chris Gambert (11, #25). At the end of the inning, Manual trailed 3-2.

Defensive problems for the Crimsons continued into the second inning, with three of its errors resulting in runs for the Centurions. Again, the offense picked up the pace, with deep hits by McGarvey, Kam Davis (11, #21) and Trae Gordon (12, #8) giving rise to two runs. At the end of the second, the score was 6-4 CAL.

In the third inning, Jake Rist (12, #9) replaced McGarvey at pitcher, who led a hitless inning for the Manual defense. The offense was able to get another run off of Sary’s bat, cutting CAL’s lead to one.

The fourth inning saw the defense slip a bit, but recover quickly, allowing only one run to CAL. The offense was uneventful for the Crimsons, as they failed to get a run. The score remained 7-5 at the end of the fourth.

The game continued to slow for both teams in the fifth, as neither was able to score. With two innings to play, both teams were looking to advance to the next round.

After CAL dealt two more blows to Manual, the Crimsons needed four to tie and five to win. Gambert got on base, but a double play by the Centurions brought an end to Manual’s season.

The team still holds their heads high, proud of what they have accomplished as district champions.

“I’m real proud of this team,” said Timbario. “I’m proud of these guys.”