Game One Box | Game Two Box
KENTWOOD, Mich. – The Panthers offense came alive in a 11-5 win to give DU a two-game split with visiting Northwestern Ohio after dropping the first game 9-3. With the split, the Panthers are 17-9 on the season and 5-3 in the WHAC. The Panthers and Racers will play two games against tomorrow. Start time has been moved up to 12 p.m. for game one.
A six-run fifth inning for the Racers was the difference in the early game as the visitors took a 2-2 tied game and turned it 8-2. After the Racers loaded the bases, an Alex Czernewski single brought in two runs for the first of their three hits in the inning. Later in the inning, with the bases loaded again, Curtis Lambkin singled up the middle, bringing in two more Racer runs.
The Panther pitchers struggled with their accuracy in the fifth, walking four batters including twice when the bases were loaded.
Catcher Mike Allen (Midland, Mich.) put the first run on the scoreboard with a first inning home run, giving the Panthers the early 1-0 advantage. In the second a Derrick Gentile (Sturgis, Mich.) single scored Dan Brown (Bay City, Mich.) from second base for a 2-0 Panther lead.
The Panthers tried to make a comeback in the sixth, loading up the bases with no outs, but DU could only bring home one run in the inning.
In the nightcap, the Panthers used strong second and third innings to fuel DU to the victory. With runners on second and third, Gentile scored both runners on a single to right field. The Panthers added two more runs in the second as Jordan Bigger (Rockford, Ill.) and Chris VanGessel (Grandville, Mich.) both notched RBI for a 4-0 score.
Davenport built a 7-0 lead as the Panthers scored three more runs in the third, highlighted by a Dan Brown (Bay City, Mich.) two-run home run.
The Panthers added four more runs late in the nine inning contest when DU scored two runs apiece in the seventh and eighth inning.
Northwestern Ohio struggled to keep up with the Panthers offensively as they totaled only two runs through seven innings. The Racers added three late runs when the contest seemed to be out of reach.
Drew Kennedy (Mt. Pleasant, Mich.) improved to 4-0 on the mound for the Panthers. Kennedy pitched eight innings, allowed eight hits and four earned runs. The hurler struck out fifth Racers, while only walking one batter.
The two teams will square off against tomorrow in a conference doubleheader. The first game is scheduled for 12 p.m. at Kentwood HS.
