SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The end of the Davenport baseball second weekend of action this season proved to be very interesting on Sunday. The Panthers and Prairie Stars each won a game in the doubleheader and each beat the other team by 10 runs in the process. Davenport took game one 18-8 and then Illinois-Springfield rebounded for a 17-7 win in seven innings in game two.
DU made it two straight wins in the series in game one and never trailed in the contest.
Xander Reisbig got Davenport on the board with a RBI single in the second inning. The Panthers took a 5-0 lead with four more runs in the third inning.
Carson Price continued his hot start to the season with a RBI single followed by a two-run scoring triple by
Michael Tchavdarov.
Anthony Aloisio drove in the team's fifth run with a RBI single to score Tchavdarov.
UIS scored three times in the bottom of the third off DU starter
Jared Schwartz. Schwartz would not last past the third inning and allowed five hits and three earned runs with four walks and two strikeouts in a no-decision outing.
Coltrane Rubner shifted momentum back to Davenport with a two-run home run to right scoring
Sam Clay for a 7-3 lead. Later in the fourth, the Panthers pulled off a double steal as Price scored and Tchavdarov took second base. Rubner struck again in the fifth with a two-run single to center as Clay and
Logan Todd scored for a 10-3 lead.
Josh Robinson followed with a RBI single to score Rubner and then scored on a wild pitch to increase the lead to 12-3.
Illinois-Springfield stormed back over the next two innings with five runs to make things interesting. Johnny Wendling had a bases-clearing double in the fifth and Mack Clark had a RBI double in the sixth.
Brayden Flanders came in the fourth for Schwartz and lasted 2.2 innings. He allowed two earned runs (five total) and hit two batters with no walks and no strikeouts. DU put the game away with six runs in the seventh inning.
Chase Kemp had a RBI single for his second RBI of the season to start the seventh inning scoring. Robinson then launched a two-run homer to center for a 16-8 lead. Reisbig doubled home pinch runner
Dominick Cowdrey and an error allowed the 18th run to score.
Cade Kontny came in for Flanders and finished the game to get the win (1-1). Kontny was the most effective reliever and finished the final 1.1 innings with no runs allowed, two walks, and two strikeouts. Robinson finished 5-for-5 at the plate with three runs scored.
DU was looking to take the series in game two but the Prairie Stars had other plans in a convincing victory to improve to 6-4 overall. The Panthers were looking good with a 5-1 lead in the second inning. Price homered to left in the five-run second inning while Todd and Kemp also had RBI singles for a 3-1 lead. Tchavdarov also drove in two runs on a single to right.
Clark homered for the Prairie Stars in the third inning as they scored three times and cut the deficit to 5-4. Ty Hollansworth homered to right in the fourth inning to tie the game and UIS would score three more on a homer by Brant Vanaman to center. Robinson got one run back in the fifth with a solo shot to right, but the home team would go on to score nine times in the bottom of the fifth to pull away. Vanaman had the biggest hit with UIS up 10-6 when he launched a grand slam to center to increase their lead to 14-6. Vanaman finished the game with two homers and seven RBI. Drew Ezard also hit a long ball in the fifth to left to conclude the scoring for UIS. Price had a RBI single to center in the top of the sixth as the final run of the game.
Tchavdarov went 2-for-4 with two RBI. Price went 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBI. He is hitting .391 this season with three homers and seven RBI.
Isaac Van Dyke got the start and lasted three innings for the Panthers. He struck out three and gave up four runs in the no-decision outing.
Jack Snow took the loss (0-1) in relief with one inning pitched.
The Panthers are back on the road next weekend against yet another Midwest Region powerhouse in Quincy University. Quincy leads the all-time series 6-5 with the last meeting coming in the NCAA Midwest Regional hosted by Davenport back on May 21, 2022. The Hawks took that game 9-7 and advanced to the Super Regional.
