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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Derek Dennis has four hits, including a pair of doubles, while he, Cam Cooper and Edward Grochowalski Jr. drove in two runs as the Davenport baseball team held on to win two close Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference games Saturday afternoon. The Panthers had to recover from a two-run deficit to win game one 7-5 while Danny Sullivan punched out a career-best nine batters to win the pitching duel 2-1 in the nightcap. Both teams will meet again Sunday at 1 p.m. In between games, the Panthers will honor their senior class.
 
Cooper also had a four-hit day while Jordan Schumann tallied three. Grochowalski and Jotham Woo both stretched one of their multiple hits into a two-bagger.
 
Game One – Davenport 7, Lourdes 5
Davenport (26-12, 11-6 WHAC) got quickly on the board off of the Gray Wolves starting pitcher Nathan Scanlan (1-1). With one out, Dennis found an open gap in right center for the first of his two doubles and Woo used his legs to beat out the second baseman for an infield hit. Woo would distract the Gray Wolves (14-24-1, 5-15-1 WHAC) by successfully stealing second while Dennis snuck his way home for the first run. The Panthers would take a 2-0 lead when Grochowalski hit an RBI single to left.
 
One inning later, Davenport caught a break with two outs. Cooper singled to center and found himself at third on a failed pickoff attempt. Dennis drove in the run with a single to center.
 
Lourdes would cut the lead to one with a two-run double in the third and a couple of fielding mistakes and an RBI double saw it take a 5-3 lead in the fourth.
 
The Panthers slowly rallied in the fifth when Woo hit a one-out double to center field and advanced to third on a wild pitch before a fielder's choice brought him home. In the next inning, Eric Cummings led off with a walk and another failed pickoff attempt found him at third base. Cam Bortell tied the game five runs apiece with a RBI single to center and after pinch runner Connor Seymour stole second; Cooper drove in the go-ahead run with a single to center. Cooper would move into scoring position with a stolen base to set up Dennis' RBI double to left center for the insurance run.
 
Corey Sessions (4-1) surrendered all five runs, three of which were earned, on seven hits but he didn't issue any free passes while striking out five. Ryan Butzer took over in the seventh and couldn't quite close it out on the ninth. He gave up a one-out single in the final frame. He managed to strike out the next batter before handing the ball to Colton Satterlee, who conceded a walk but struck out the final batter for his third save of the year.
 
Game Two – Davenport 2, Lourdes 1
Sullivan (5-3) was practically untouchable in the nightcap, having struck out the side twice. The only run and hit came in the fourth inning when a dropped fly ball broke the perfect game and an RBI single brought in the unearned run.
 
The Panthers, meanwhile, also scored in an unearned run in the second inning. Michael Allen reached on a fielding error by the third baseman and courtesy runner Andrew Kawam worked his way to third on Schumann's single followed by a stolen base. The Panthers would once again distract the Gray Wolves as Schumann was caught in a pickle but managed to prevent himself from being tagged the third out long enough for Kawam to score the run.
 
After the Gray Wolves tied the game in the fourth, the Panthers regained the lead in the fifth when Carlos Berroa hit into an open gap in right center for a two-out triple and Cooper followed with an RBI single to right center.
 
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