FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Davenport's second-ranked baseball team kept itself on top of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference standings after producing two different results against Indiana Tech Sunday afternoon. Brendan Bender threw eight solid innings to help the Panthers dominate game one 12-1 by mercy rule but the Panthers had to break a tie twice in extra innings to escape game two 10-8 in 10 frames to win the four-game series.
 
Bender also had a productive day at the plate, going 5-for-9 with a double and four RBI in the two games. Zac Wilson also had the same as Bender but only driven in three runs. In addition, Matt Priebe had a five-RBI day and Connor Seymour swung for the fence on two occasions.
 
The two wins still put Davenport (36-3, 20-1 WHAC) above second-place Northwestern Ohio in the WHAC standings by a half of a game. The two teams will meet at the Farmers Insurance Athletic Complex this weekend but the Panthers have a date with Cornerstone before the Racers. DU will visit the Golden Eagles' campus Wednesday at 2 p.m.
 
Game 1 – Davenport 12, Indiana Tech 1
Bender (5-0) tossed his first complete-game game of the season needing only to throw 94 pitches in eight innings. He only allowed the unearned run in the fourth inning but went on to allow five hits and a walk.
 
Davenport, meanwhile, had a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Matt Priebe hit a leadoff single and scored when Dre Celestijn hit into a fielder's choice. The Panthers added three more in the third when Zac Wilson's leadoff walk and Bender's double setup a two-run single by Priebe. Bender drove in two of his four RBI in the fourth, using a single to center to score Wilson and Seymour to give Davenport a 7-0 lead.
 
The Panthers put the game out of the Warriors reach with two more runs in the fifth and three in the eighth highlighted by Seymour's solo home run.
 
Game 2 – Davenport 10, Indiana Tech 8 (10 Innings)
Both teams went back-and-forth with the lead in the scheduled seven-inning game. Trailing 5-2 in the fourth, Davenport took the lead scoring four unearned runs in the fourth. Brandon Cable started the momentum off with a two-out double, Nolan Wilson struck out but reached on a throwing error during the putout attempt and the Panthers punished the Warriors for the mistake when Seymour and Zac Wilson combined for three RBI in back-to-back hits to give Davenport a 6-5 lead.
 
Davenport kept the one-run lead to the seventh inning but the Warriors tied the game with a solo shot off of Jonathan Cheshire.
 
Both teams would score a run in the eighth but it was until the 10^th when the Panthers scored twice. Cable and Zac Wilson got on base to allow Bender deliver a two-run single.
 
Ryan Butzer (4-0) collected his fourth win after only allowing two hits in 1 1/3 innings. Starter Jerry Ferris scattered five runs on eight hits but did not issue any walks.
 
Baseball Contact: Rick Hoskin | 616-871-6180 | rhoskin@davenport.edu
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