BELLEVUE, Neb. – The Panthers had a tall order ahead of them Wednesday night and just fell short of advancing to the championship game of the opening round. Davenport continued their game against Antelope Valley, rolling over them 7-1 and advanced to play Bellevue University. Against the Bruins Davenport was just one or two hits away from winning the game, eventually the Panthers fell 3-2. Cheshire stepped into pitch in the bottom of the second inning and only allowed one run during his seven innings pitched. Davenport fought all the way until the end of the game and showed how they were truly a team, not just a bunch of individuals playing a game.
 
Game 6 (Wednesday, May 17 at 7:00 p.m.)
Final Score: #3 Davenport-7 | #4 Antelope Valley-1
Location: Belleuve, Neb.
Records: DU 43-16 | UAV 37-18
 
INSIDE THE BOX
Austin Petravicius (1-4, R, 2B, HBP)
Andrew Figueroa (1-3, R, RBI, 2B, SF)
Brian Sobieski (2-4, R, 2B)
Brandon Larkin-Guilfoyle (2-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2B, HR, HBP)
Jake Bozzo (1-3, R, RBI, 2B, HBP)
Nolan Page (2-4, R, 2B)
Cameron Bair (1-4, 2 RBI)
Krystien Johnson-Batillana 4 IP, 3 H, R, ER, 0 BB, 6 SO
Caleb Leach (W, 2-0) 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 SO
 
The first half of this game was played on Tuesday night and was suspended due to severe weather in the area. Davenport was leading 5-1 at the top of the fifth inning when it was suspended. The Panthers increased their lead and had momentum on their side when Bair singled up the middle and scored both Page and Bozzo. When the game was resumed on Wednesday night Leach came in to pitch for Johnson-Batillana and did work. Leach struck out eight batters in the five innings that he pitched and didn't give up a run. In the bottom of the fifth Larkin-Guilfoyle hit a bomb to right field to score himself and Figueroa.


 
Game 7 (Wednesday, May 17 at 8:30 p.m.)
Final Score: #3 Davenport-2 | #1 Bellevue-3
Location: Belleuve, Neb.
Records: DU 43-17 | BU 51-10
 
INSIDE THE BOX
Petravicius (1-4, R, RBI, HR)
Figueroa (1-4)
Bozzo (0-2, 2 BB)
Page (1-3, R, HBP)
Bair (2-4)
Hoge (2-2, BB)
Justin Palmbos (L, 3-5) 1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO
Cheshire 7 IP, 4 H, R, ER, 2 BB, 6 SO
 
The offense struggled for Davenport against the pitching of Bellevue, as DU only recorded seven hits for two runs. Petravicius started off the game with a bang as he hit a solo home run to left field in the lead off spot. The Panthers were shut out up until the fifth inning. Cheshire came in to relieve Palmbos early in the game after Bellevue took a 2-1 lead and the bases were loaded. Cheshire got the first batter he faced to strike out then got the next batter to ground out into a 643 double play to escape the inning with minimal damage. The Panthers scored their final run in the top of the fifth after Page scored in a wild pitch. The pitching staffs for each team were the story down the stretch of this game. Neither team scored from the bottom of the fifth inning on.


 
Year In Review
Davenport finished the season 43-17 and were one game away from reaching the championship game in the opening round of the NAIA National Tournament. They were 26-6 in conference play and took second place in the WHAC conference tournament.
 
Story by: Devin Steiner
 
Photo Credit: Steven Branscombe