GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Davenport baseball team took their lumps during the non-conference portion of their schedule, but look to start another chapter and reset as Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play begins this weekend. The task won't be an easy one however as the Panthers (4-15) travel to Hammond, Ind. for a doubleheader against Purdue Northwest (8-5) and No. 18 Wayne State (11-6). DU will play the Pride on Friday, March 22 in a twinbill starting at 2 PM ET followed by two games on Saturday against the Warriors set for 2 PM ET as well. This will be the first time that DU and WSU have played on a neutral site during the regular season. DU is 2-0 in neutral site games both coming in the GLIAC Tournament.

ASHLAND SERIES
The Eagles took two of three in the series last weekend and moved from No. 17 up to No. 10 in NCAA Division II this week. They are also listed as the top team in the Midwest Region as of Wednesday. After a couple of close losses on Friday and Saturday, the Panthers rallied for a 10-8 win on Sunday. The Panthers had a couple of unsung heroes in the victory. Connor Hnilo got his first start of the year at second base and batted ninth in the order. He finished 3-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored and set a career high for hits in a game. Austin VanderMarkt picked up his first career win out of the bullpen. He tossed the final three innings and did not allow a hit with just one walk. Michael Tchavdarov finished the game going 3-for-6 with a pair of RBI. Tchavdarov was named the GLIAC Player of the Week on Monday for the first time in his career. The redshirt junior from Warren, Mich. had his second three-hit game of the season and scored the tying run in the ninth inning before driving in the winning run in the 10th inning with a RBI single. He hit safely in all three games of the series and also hit a solo home run on Saturday which tied the game at 5-5 in the sixth inning. Coltrane Rubner also went 3-for-9 in the series with two doubles and two RBI. Anthony Aloisio and Carson Price also drove in three runs during the series.

SERIES HISTORY
Davenport leads the all-time series 22-4 against Purdue Northwest. The Panthers took three of four games during the regular season last season in Hammond, Ind. with the last three wins coming while scoring in double digits. DU won five of the six matchups last season as they also swept a doubleheader at home on March 31 by scores of 5-1 and 3-2. The Pride got revenge however in the GLIAC Tournament opening game with a 9-1 win in Lansing, Mich. The Pride did a majority of their scoring in the final three innings with two runs in the seventh and eighth and four additional runs in the ninth. PNW collected 14 hits compared to six for the Panthers. Jonathan Sabotnik drove in four runs highlighted by a solo home run in the eighth and a bases-clearing triple in the ninth. Sam Shively picked up the win in relief going five innings with one run allowed. Carson Fischer took the loss going 6.1 innings and allowing three runs on six hits with four strikeouts.

Davenport leads the all-time series 15-9 against Wayne State. The Warriors took five of six games last season against the Panthers en route to their GLIAC championship. All six contests were played in the Motor City and Davenport scored 16 runs in their one victory and just 13 runs in their five losses. The then No. 12 Warriors took the final game of the regular season by a score of 12-5 on May 7. Logan Todd finished 2-for-4 with one run scored for DU. Gaetano Vallone went 2-for-3 at the dish. Ben Mets hit a solo home run in the eighth and Cal Anspaugh hit a three-run homer in the ninth. Rudy Ramirez drove in three runs for WSU in a three-run shot to center in the third inning. Griffin Kilander picked up his sixth win of the season going six innings and allowing no earned runs with eight strikeouts for the Warriors.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Purdue Northwest is currently ranked No. 10 in the Midwest Region and opened their season by winning three of four at Kentucky Wesleyan. They picked up an early signature win over Indianapolis (4-2) on March 6. The Greyhonds went 39-21 a season ago and were Midwest Region champions before dropping their first two games in the Division II World Series. Jake Nightingale had a solid pitching performance for the Pride going 7.1 innings and allowing two runs with two walks and seven strikeouts. Ethan Getting picked up his first save of the year tossing the final 1.2 innings with three strikeouts. Luke Montgomery went 3-for-4 with a double and run scored for PNW. The Pride hit a four-game skid during the spring trip to Florida, but ended it on a high note with a 7-5 win over Minnesota-Crookston on March 15. Montgomery is pacing the team offensively with a .396 batting average (19-for-48). He also leads the team with 14 runs scored, five doubles and a .463 on-base percentage. Cole Olson is leading the team with 10 RBI and sports a .250 batting average (11-for-44). The pitching staff has a 4.63 earned-run average with 71 strikeouts and 52 walks in 101 innings.

Wayne State went from No. 10 last week to No. 18 this week in the Division II national poll after losing five games during the Florida trip. The Warriors ended the trip however with wins against Florida Southern (19-3) and Purdue Northwest (4-0) in non-conference action. Kilander improved to 4-0 on the bump for Wayne State this season by tossing a complete-game shutout on just one hit. He retired the first 10 batters before Montgomery reached on an error in the fourth inning. He then did not allow a baserunner until Dan Puplava singled to right with one out in the eighth inning to break up the no-hitter. Kilander finished with no walks and a career-high 14 strikeouts. Mason McGuire and Tony Hatzigeorgiou each drove in two runs and Hatzigeorgiou finished 3-for-4 at the dish with a double. He leads the team right now with a .433 batting average (29-for-67) with four doubles and 11 RBI. McGuire leads the squad with 16 RBI and has six doubles, one triple, and two home runs. Kilander has a 2.63 earned-run average this season to go with his perfect record. He has 39 strikeouts in 27.1 innings and opponents are hitting .177 against him. Karter Fitzpatrick is off to another solid season after being named Second Team All-American in 2023 by NCBWA and also earning GLIAC Pitcher of the Year. He is 3-1 with a 3.90 earned-run average in 30 innings with eight walks and a team-high 44 punchouts.

LIVE COVERAGE
Friday, March 22 at Purdue Northwest (DH) - 2:00 PM ET - Live Video - Live Stats
Saturday, March 23 vs. Wayne State (DH) at PNW - 2:00 PM ET - Live Stats