MILLINGTON, Tenn. - For the second straight year, Davenport baseball dropped two of three against Hillsdale to start the season after a 13-8 setback on Sunday. The Chargers, picked fourth in the North Division in the G-MAC Preseason Poll, improve to 4-2 this season having won two series including one against Lee last weekend. The game was back-and-forth until the latter innings when the Chargers scored twice in the seventh and eighth to pull away.
Miko Rodriguez hit the first home run for the team this season which was a two-run shot in the first inning. Hillsdale took a 3-2 lead with three runs in the second inning.
James Kohl got the start for Davenport and gave up a solo homer to Will Shannon, a RBI single to Danny Passinault, and a sacrifice fly to Cody Kancler.
Davenport tied it up in the top of the third on a
Ben Mets RBI single which scored
Gaetano Vallone. They then took a 5-3 lead in the top of the fourth as Vallone had a two-RBI single to score
Khale Showers and
Coltrane Rubner. The Chargers tied it up in the bottom of the fourth as Kancler had a RBI double and Nick Stepke followed with a RBI single.
Tyler McKinstry made his first collegiate appearance in place of Kohl after the Stepke RBI single and stranded two runners to keep the game tied.
The Panthers regained a 7-5 lead in the top of the fifth as
Josh Robinson walked with two outs and
Carter Troncin smacked a two-run home run off Hillsdale starter Drew Olssen. Paul Brophy came into the game after the long ball and retired Rubner on a fly out to end the inning. Hillsdale had a big four-run bottom of the fifth to take a 9-7 lead. Stepke had a two-RBI single and Aidan Brewer had a RBI double to take the 8-7 lead and chase McKinstry.
Alex Lord came into relief and walked two batters including Shannon with the bases loaded for the two-run cushion.
Jack Snow came in and got the final out on a strikeout of Zak Kent.
Davenport got one run back in the sixth as a two-out scoring chance started with a Vallone single and advancement to second on an error.
Michael Tchavdarov then followed with a RBI single to make it 9-8. That was it though for the Panthers in the run department.
Tyler Hill pitched a clean sixth inning for the Panthers and stranded the bases loaded after a strikeout of Brewer looking.
Aaron Ball started on the hill in the seventh after Davenport went down in order. He gave up one earned run (two total) as Nate Waligora had a RBI single and Kent scored on a passed ball. Hillsdale led 11-8 and turned to their closer Zane Barnhart. He retired six straight Panthers while striking out the side in the eighth and adding two more punchouts in the ninth. Brewer added insurance runs in the eighth for Hillsdale with a two-run jack off
Logan Bursick-Harrington who entered in the seventh with two outs.
