ADRIAN, Mich. – Although a four-run eighth inning gave Indiana Tech's baseball team the lead, it did not last long as No. 5 Davenport answered back with two runs in its half of the inning and held on in the ninth to defeat the Warriors 5-4 and repeat as Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Tournament champions on a hot Thursday afternoon at Siena Heights.
 
The Panthers (48-9) receives the conference's second automatic bid to the NAIA National Opening Round even though Davenport is in as a host site. They will find out Friday who will be coming to the Farmers Insurance Athletic Complex for the tournament opener that begins Tuesday.
 
Coming on short rest, Corey Sessions carried the Panthers to the sixth inning allowing only two hits. Ryan Butzer also scattered two knocks and a walk but Jonathan Cheshire surrendered the four runs on five hits including four straight RBI singles that gave the Warriors (32-27) a 4-3 lead in the eighth.
 
Alex Schuiling stopped the damage and threw a solid ninth to pick up his sixth win of the season.
 
Dre Celestijn led off the third with a double down the left field line and scored on Brendan Bender's single.
 
Indiana Tech committed five errors in the game with three of them allowing the Panthers to score two runs.
 
Davenport's rally in the eighth began with Jordan Zylstra, Matt Priebe and Cody Greear loading the bases and nobody out. Celestijn tied the game with a base hit to right and Zac Wilson hit into fielder's choice that was enough for pinch-runner Matt Hoge to score the go-ahead run.
 
The Panthers and Warriors have met at least twice in the WHAC Tournament the last two years, with the Panthers winning three of the last four. It is also the second straight season Davenport clinched the championship over Indiana Tech.
 
Baseball Contact: Rick Hoskin | 616-871-6180 | rhoskin@davenport.edu
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