HOOVER, Ala. - The Davenport baseball team kick started their 2020 season on Friday with a doubleheader against Southern Indiana. The teams met for the first time and earned a split at Hoover Met Complex just south of Birmingham. The Screaming Eagles took game one by an 8-6 score and the Panthers dominated the nightcap 10-1. It was also the first games of the season for Southern Indiana who is receiving votes in the national preseason poll.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams showed nerves in game one as can be expected with the start of the season. Defense was lacking at times and led to each team committing three errors. Those errors meant that only five of Southern Indiana's runs were earned and four of six runs scored by Davenport were earned.
James Rogers was struggling with finding the strike zone in his four-inning start. He allowed just two hits and two earned runs, but walked six batters and struck out two. He threw 84 pitches and factored in the no-decision.
Michael Lincoln took the loss in relief going 2.2 innings and allowing three earned runs and four hits.
DU took a 2-0 lead with runs in the second inning.
Hunter Ruhstorfer had an RBI on a grounder that was mishandled at third.
Nolan Anspaugh had an RBI on a fielder's choice as well. Southern Indiana plated the next three runs before Davenport tied it up in the sixth. Anspaugh got into a rundown between first and second and the ball was bobbled to allow
Roman Trujillo to score from third.
The Panthers regained the lead in the seventh as
Noah Marcoux and
Kamrin Markwardt had back-to-back doubles for a 5-4 lead. The miscues were costly in the bottom of the seventh for DU as USI scored four times to pull away at 8-5. Two critical runs scored on a single to right field and the ball went under Ruhstorfer's glove to the wall which allowed those runs to score.
Christian Petre tripled to right for an RBI scoring Markwardt in the ninth to make the final 8-6.
In game two,
Dalton O'Boyle had a solid start in his first appearance as a Panther. He went five innings and got plenty of run support as the Panthers scored seven times in the second after trailing 1-0. Markwardt scored on a wild pitch followed by an RBI single from
Nolan Bryant and a two-RBI single by
Jacob Buchberger. With a 4-1 lead,
Travis Harvey blasted a three-run homer to left for a 7-1 advantage.
Anspaugh scored in the fourth on a steal of third and a throwing error into left allowing him to score. Buchberger also drove in two more runs in the eighth on a triple to right center.
Joseph Drury,
Duncan Gillett and
Isaac Van Dyke all pitched scoreless innings out of the bullpen.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
Bryant walked four times in game two and scored twice. Buchberger drove in four runs in game two and went 2-for-5. Markwardt went 2-for-3 in game one with two walks and two runs scored. Anspaugh went 4-for-5 in game two with two runs. He stole three bases on the day.
Roman Trujillo is his first game at DU in game one went 2-for-4 with a double and run scored.
ON DECK
The Panthers (1-1) will face Southern Indiana one more time tomorrow at 2 p.m. eastern time in a nine-inning contest.
