By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Tuesday's Centennial League opening doubleheader of the 2026 season was a tale of two games for Hayden baseball.
Hayden senior pitcher Connor Hanika went six-plus innings in Tuesday's 4-2 first-game win over Manhattan at Hayden. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
The defending league-champion Wildcats turned in a solid 4-2 first-game win over visiting Manhattan behind solid pitching from senior Connor Hanika and sophomore Max Becker but Hayden lost its touch in the nightcap, with the Indians turning in a dominating 10-0 win to earn the split.
"I don't think we had it anywhere,'' Hayden coach Bill Arnold said about the second game. "On the field, at the plate, it seemed like we were very complacent and very happy to win Game 1 and the attitude that we took out on the field the second game was, 'I don't care what happens, we beat them the first game,' and that's not the mentality that we're accustomed to here and they had to be reminded of that after the game.''
Manhattan took advantage of a Riland Boyer double and an Hayden error in the top of the first in Game 1 to take a 1-0 lead, but the Wildcats went on top with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second.
Hayden senior left-fielder Kade Mitchell records an out in the second game of Tuesday's twinbill split with Manhattan. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Hayden got a single from senior Kade Mitchell and a walk in the bottom of the second and both Wildcat baserunners came around to score on an infield single from senior catcher Brady Deutsch to put Hayden up 2-1.
Deutsch delivered again in the bottom of the fourth as the Wildcats boosted their lead to 4-1.
Hanika kept Manhattan off the board for five straight innings and pitched into the top of the seventh before Becker came on to record the save after the Indians pushed across one run and had the potential tying run at second base.
Senior Brayson Gnirk took the pitching loss for Manhattan.
Manhattan quickly turned the tables in the second game, jumping out in front 2-0 in the top of the first against Hayden junior starting pitcher Everett Tourtillott.
The Indians then took control in the third, scoring four runs to boost their lead to 6-0, and added a single run in the fourth and their final three runs in the seventh.
Hayden sophomore Ryker Tetuan makes contact with a pitch in Tuesday's twinbill split with Manhattan. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Hayden struggled at the plate against senior pitcher Carter Goodpasture, who went the distance for the shutout as Hayden fell to 2-2 overall and 1-1 in the league.
"They've got some hitters and they'll win their fair share of games, but they're not 10 runs better than us,'' Arnold said.
Hayden is scheduled to return to action Friday at Nemaha Central.
