BECKLEY, W. Va. - The Davenport baseball team made the eight-plus hour drive to the Mountaineer State on Thursday and began their 2019 season with a doubleheader sweep over Ohio Valley University. The Panthers won game one, 7-5, and then unloaded three home runs including two grand slams in game two's 13-2 victory over the Fighting Scots. Davenport begins the new season 2-0 while Ohio Valley remains winless at 0-5.

GAME 1
Senior Evan Marquardt took the mound for his first start as a Panther after three seasons at Ball State University. Marquardt cruised through four innings allowing just one run and one hit. He ran into trouble in the fifth inning with Davenport leading 7-1. The Fighting Scots scored twice to cut the lead to 7-3 with two runs on two hits in the inning. Marquardt got one out in the sixth after Ohio Valley scored a run for a 7-4 deficit. Junior Pete Zeimis inherited a runner on third and gave up a double to make it a 7-5 game. Zeimis then picked off a runner and struck out a batter to end the sixth. Zeimis then retired the Fighting Scots in order in the seventh for the save. Marquardt allowed four hits and walked three with one strikeout. Zeimis struck out three and allowed just a double in 1.2 innings.

Nick Shower gave up 10 hits and seven runs in 4.2 innings. DU collected 11 hits with three of those as doubles by Jimmy Filipski who set his single-game high for doubles. Kamrin Markwardt got the start at catcher in his first game at Davenport and went 2-for-3 with three runs and two RBI. Darren Rydzewski also drove in two runs via groundouts in the second and fourth innings. Jacob Buchberger tripled and doubled in his first two at-bats to finish 2-for-4 with a run scored. Hunter Ruhstorfer batted fifth in the lineup and got a double and RBI. Travis Harvey also collected a triple in three at-bats and scored a run.

GAME 2
The fireworks happened in the second inning for Davenport as Harvey had an inside-the-park home run for a 1-0 lead with one out. The Panthers tacked on four runs in the fifth, seventh and ninth innings to run away with the 13-2 win. Alex Huard had a RBI double in the fifth and Noah Marcoux had an RBI single. Matt Houle stepped to the plate in the seventh with the bases loaded and hit his first career home run to empty the bases. Huard made history with a grand slam of his own in the ninth. It was the first time DU had two grand slams in a game. Huard finished with five RBI going 2-for-6. Houle also had a double and walked going 2-for-4 with four RBI and two runs. Ruhstorfer collected three hits and stole a base.

Graduate student Taylor Turner, a transfer from Madonna University, got his first start at Davenport and went five innings. He got the win allowing five hits and two runs with a walk and five strikeouts. James Rogers in his return after injury ended his 2018 season, pitched four innings and allowed no hits with a walk and three strikeouts to earn a save. Alex Jarrell started for Ohio Valley and lasted four innings to take the loss. He allowed six hits and five runs.