AUBURNDALE, Fla. - The Panthers made the pilgrimage to sunny central Florida on Sunday and started off their spring break trip with a doubleheader split against regional opponent Tiffin. Davenport captured a 7-3 win in game one and then fell 12-11 in the nightcap.
James Kohl (1-1) toed the rubber in game one for DU and picked up the win going four innings in the seven-inning contest. He allowed just one run with no walks and two strikeouts.
Alex Lord pitched the final three innings and did not allow a run with a walk and strikeout.
Gaetano Vallone,
Ben Mets, and
Michael Tchavdarov each hit a double and Mets also hit a long ball in the sixth inning which was a two-run shot to give DU a cushion at 7-3.
Carter Troncin also had three RBI and two hits with a two-run single in the first and a RBI single in the third. Vallone,
Coltrane Rubner, and Troncin also recorded a stolen base.
Game two was a wild one as the Panthers fell behind 8-0 and battled back to lose by just a single run at 12-11. DU scored in five straight innings from the second to the sixth. Trailing 12-4 heading into the bottom of the fifth, DU scored four times in the fifth and three more times in the sixth to get within a run. In another seven-inning game, DU had the final at-bat and with two outs it was Tchavdarov being hit by a pitch and then moving from second and then to third on back-to-back wild pitches. Mets who was 3-for-4 before the final at-bat, struck out swinging to end the game.
DU used six hurlers in game two and the loss went to starter
Jared Schwartz (0-2). He lasted just 1.1 innings and allowed six earned runs with four walks and three punchouts.
Devon Nettles was solid in relief allowing no runs in two innings.
Cade Kontny and
Spencer Vainavicz also did not allow a run in a combined 2.1 innings of relief. Rubner went 1-for-3 with two runs and two RBI. Troncin continued his strong doubleheader going 2-for-4 with a double and home run.
Khale Showers went 2-for-2 with a walk and RBI.
The Panthers (3-5) will travel to the University of Tampa (10-2) for a 7 PM game on Monday against the fourth-ranked Spartans.