CALEDONIA, Mich. - The Davenport baseball team concluded their four-game series with Northwood on Monday after two days off and the result was the same as the teams split a doubleheader and each team won twice to open up GLIAC play.
The script was flipped as the Panthers won game one on Monday before dropping the nightcap. The first game saw DU put together timely pitching and defense in the 3-1 win. In game two, costly errors led to a big inning for the Timberwolves as they turned a 5-1 deficit into a 13-5 win.
It was vintage
James Kohl in game one as he went five innings in his best start of the season and picked up his first win. Kohl allowed four hits and one run with four walks and six strikeouts. Davenport did all of their scoring in the first two innings.
Carson Eby had a RBI double to right center and
Ben Mets doubled to right which scored Eby.
Blake Jacklin delivered a RBI sacrifice bunt in the second inning which gave DU a 3-0 lead.
Northwood scored in the third as Myles Beale had a RBI single to left which scored David Jeffers. Kohl managed to dodge trouble in a few innings. He stranded the bases loaded in the second and fifth innings and got a big strikeout looking from Rhett Evans to end the fifth and end the day for Kohl.
Spencer Vainavicz relieved Kohl to start the sixth inning and allowed a pair of base runners on a walk and single with one out. He got a big strikeout by Jacob Rybicki who fanned four times in game one. He got Jeffers to ground out with runners on second and third. In the seventh, Matt Magno led off with a double down the right field line but was stranded at third after Vainavicz retired the last three batters to earn his first save of the season.
Christian Petre had a triple and scored on Jacklin's sacrifice bunt. Mets went 2-for-3 and was the only Panther with multiple hits.
It looked promising in game two as Davenport scored four times in the first inning off Logan Lee.
Gaetano Vallone had a RBI double down the right field line which scored
Nolan Anspaugh who singled to start the inning. Eby continued his hot series with a two-RBI double to left center for a 3-0 lead. Mets then had a sacrifice fly to right center to score Eby for a 4-0 lead.
Northwood scored once in the fifth inning but Davenport answered in the bottom of the fifth on a RBI single by Eby.
Jared Schwartz was having a great outing as he faced the minimum through four innings. NU was gifted a seven-run, sixth inning as the Panthers made several uncharacteristic errors and saw their 5-1 lead turn into an 8-5 deficit. The bottom of the order for the Timberwolves gave them the lead as Joey Johnston and Jeffers each had two-RBI singles.
After that rough first inning, Lee settled in and ended up going seven innings and throwing 106 pitches. He allowed just one run over the final six innings and finished with three walks and five strikeouts. Schwartz took the tough-luck loss (1-3) going 5.2 innings but none of the eight runs allowed were earned. He allowed six hits with two walks and six strikeouts.
Anspaugh and Eby each had two hits as the Panthers finished with six hits total.
