GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Davenport baseball team will begin the 2024 season against a familiar non-conference opponent with a trip to No. 5 Central Missouri for a four-game set against the Mules. The teams will play twice on Saturday and Sunday and have met in Warrensburg, Missouri each of the last three years. While it will be the first action of the season for Davenport, it will be the eighth game of the season for the Mules on Saturday. They have a 5-2 record and have won their last four contests.

2023 WRAP UP
The Panthers failed to reach 30 wins in a season for the first time under head coach Kevin Tidey with a 27-26 record. The team did have another successful GLIAC record going 20-10 and finished second in the conference. The home and away splits were noticeable as DU went 14-3 at Farmers Insurance Athletic Complex and 8-16 in true road games. On Feb. 27, the team lost a tough 2-1 game at No. 4 Tampa on a walk-off homer by the Spartans. On May 5, Davenport got their only win against a nationally-ranked team with a 16-5 victory at No. 12 Wayne State. The dreams of a three-peat in the GLIAC Tournament were erased when the Panthers went 1-2. They lost 9-1 to Purdue Northwest in the first game and stayed alive with a 10-5 win over Parkside. The Lakers of GVSU eliminated DU by a score of 7-5 on May 13. The postseason awards included NCBWA All-Region Second Team for high school teammates Spencer Vainavicz and Gaetano Vallone (GR West Catholic). Vainavicz was steady in the bullpen and left Davenport with a 14-5 record in 81 appearances with 168 strikeouts (fourth all-time at DU). Vallone ranks top five all-time for RBI (138), walks (80), and games played (201). He was second in the GLIAC with 70 hits and third with five triples. Carter Troncin, Khale Showers, and Ben Mets were also named Honorable Mention All-Region. Those five guys will be missed in 2024.

GLIAC YEARLY AWARDS
Tyler McKinstry was named GLIAC Freshman Pitcher of the Year and got significant playting time towards the end of the season after an injury to Isaac Van Dyke. He started in four GLIAC games and had a 1-1 record with a 6.75 ERA in 16 innings. He walked eight and struck out 20. He picked up his GLIAC win against Parkside on Apr. 23 with five innings of work and struck out seven Rangers. Mets, Vallone, and Vainavicz were all named First Team All-GLIAC. Troncin, Showers, Carson Fischer, and Van Dyke earned Second Team All-GLIAC honors. James Kohl and Coltrane Rubner were selected Honorable Mention All-GLIAC. The team will rely heavily on Fischer, McKinstry, and Van Dyke in starting roles as they figure out a new offense with just a handful of starters returning.

SERIES HISTORY
This will be the fourth straight year that the Panthers and Mules will tangle on the diamond. Due to the early-season weather in Michigan, all 10 previous meetings have been hosted by Central Missouri who owns a 6-4 advantage. DU took two of three back in 2021. Central Missouri won three of four during the 2022 season after the Panthers won the first game. The Panthers again won the opener in 2023 before the Mules responded with a pair of wins. The last meeting was Feb. 19, 2023 with UCM winning 8-7 on a walk-off single in the ninth inning. Jacob Steele had the game-winning RBI and went 3-for-5 at the plate with a run scored. Cole Moore drove in two runs for the Mules and Harrison Babbitt got the win in relief going one inning with one strikeout. Logan Bursick-Harrington went two innings for Davenport and took the loss with three strikeouts and two walks. Vallone went 3-for-5 with three runs scored and a RBI, and collected a double and home run in the third inning.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Central Missouri went 43-15 last season and 27-6 in the MIAA to win their fourth straight regular season title. They then clinched their fifth straight MIAA Tournament title with a resounding 15-0 victory against Missouri Southern on May 13. The Mules earned the top seed in the Central Region and hosted a four-team tournament on May 18-21. They won their first game over eight-seed St. Cloud State 7-6, but then dropped a 4-2 decision to fifth-seed Augustana (SD). UCM beat St. Cloud State again 6-4 to eliminate them, but Augustana got the Mules again 8-6 to bounce them from the regional.

Vance Tobol is leading the offense this year to the 5-2 start. Tobol is batting .417 with 10 hits in 24 at-bats and has scored six runs. Josh Patrick leads the team with four long balls and is tied with Tobol having driven in seven runs. The Mules are batting .324 as a team with 15 home runs compared to eight given up. Conner Wolf has struck out 10 and walked just two in two starts covering 8.1 innings. Bryce Taylor in two apperances has thrown four innings with eight strikeouts and two walks. The team ERA thus far for UCM is 6.24 and opponents are hitting .252 against them.

LIVE COVERAGE
Saturday, Feb. 17 at Central Missouri (2:00 PM ET - DH) - Live Video - Live Stats
Sunday, Feb. 18 at Central Missouri (2:00 PM ET - DH) - Live Video - Live Stats

 

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