CALEDONIA, Mich. – The Davenport baseball team earned a split on Saturday afternoon against Saginaw Valley State winning game one (9-5) and falling in game two (13-9). It was a wacky day on the diamond as Davenport came from behind in game one scoring the final eight runs. In the nightcap the pitching was inconsistent as 22 runs were scored but half of those were unearned.
How it Happened: The first game started off rocky for the Panthers.
James Rogers got the start and allowed one run in the first. Davenport answered back with a run in the bottom of the first as
Alex Huard had a RBI double. In the top of the third, the Cardinals opened up a 5-1 lead. Jordan Swiss was intentionally walked to load the bases and Joshua Riggs made the move backfire and he hit a grand slam to right center with one out. Riggs drove in all five runs in game one for the Cardinals.
Davenport chipped away with a run in the fourth and then took the lead with five runs in the fifth.
Noah Marcoux hit his team-leading fourth home run, a two-run shot to right center to get things going.
Travis Harvey had a RBI single with two outs and
Jacob Buchberger tripled to left to drive home two more runs.
DU added two final runs in the sixth inning.
Kamrin Markwardt had a RBI groundout and
Dylan Watson had a infield single for another RBI.
Pete Zeimis got his second save of the season and was dominant in two innings allowing no hits with two strikeouts.
Saginaw Valley State broke a 1-1 tie in game two with six runs in the top of the third. They had two hits in the inning with a big one coming from Austin Koin with a two-run double down the left field line. The Panthers closed the gap to 9-6 after five innings. DU scored four runs in the fifth as Bryant had a RBI double followed by a Markwardt RBI single. Markwardt also scored on a wild pitch later in the inning.
The Cardinals scored three more runs in the sixth to increase their lead to 12-6. Two runs were scored on wild pitches and another on a bases loaded walk. With a 13-6 deficit entering the bottom of the seventh, DU scored three times.
Gaetano Vallone had a sacrifice fly that was dropped in center field to extend the inning. Buchberger also had a sacrifice fly to center.
Game Notes: Rogers improved to 3-0 this season in game one going five innings. He allowed four hits and five runs with five walks and four strikeouts. Brandon Wise took the loss for SVSU going 4.2 innings and allowing six runs on seven hits. Buchberger drove in three runs going 2-for-3 and also had five infield assists at third base. Harvey went 3-for-3 with a double and two runs scored.
Cal Djuraskovic took the loss in game two going 2.1 innings in his start. He walked four and gave up three earned runs. Kyle Henigan got the win for the Cardinals improving to 2-1 this season. He lasted four innings and gave up two runs and five hits. Markwardt went 4-for-4 with two RBI and two doubles.
Jake Bozzo scored three runs and had a double in three at-bats. DU walked nine batters and hit two more in game two.
On Deck: Davenport (12-6, 1-2) will conclude their four-game series against Saginaw Valley State (7-9, 2-1) on Sunday at noon for a single nine-inning game looking to split the series.
