CALEDONIA, Mich. - For the second straight game, the Davenport baseball team got a walk-off win at home and began a four-game weekend series against Wayne State with a 5-4 win. DU beat Grand Valley State on Wednesday in their last at-bat, but this time around they trailed by a run heading into the bottom of the ninth. Wayne State led 4-1 through four innings but the Panthers battled back with the final four runs of the game.
DU got a
Josh Robinson RBI single in the first inning to grab the early lead. The Warriors then got a RBI double by Logan Van Sicklen in the second inning followed by a Kyle Ray infield RBI single for a 2-1 lead. Owen Tuccinardi led off the third inning with a no-doubt home run down the left field line for a 3-1 lead. Mason McGuire singled to right field in the fourth inning and Van Sicklen scored for the 4-1 lead.
Anthony Aloisio got the comeback started in the fifth inning as he had a RBI single through the right side to make it 4-2.
Connor Hnilo got DU one run closer in the seventh inning as he reached on a throwing error by Griffin Kilander and
Michael Tchavdarov scored on the play after reaching on a triple.
Macio Miller came into pitch in the bottom of the eighth inning and retired the Panthers in order.
Connor Foley did likewise in the top of the ninth to setup the final at-bat for the Panthers. The Warriors made four defensive changes, but the Panther offense did all the work.
Logan Todd had a single through the left side to start the inning. Tchavdarov had his second triple of the game to the right field corner as Todd scored for a 4-4 tie. Hnilo then went ahead 2-0 in the count and got a pitch he could handle for a single down the left field line for the 5-4 final score.
Tchavdarov finished 4-for-5 with a double, two triples, and three runs scored. Hnilo went 2-for-4 with a run and RBI. Van Sicklen reached base four times going 3-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored. Tuccinardi went 2-for-5 with a double and home run. Kilander threw seven innings and 127 pitches for the Warriors. He yielded three earned runs on eight hits and struck out seven.
Carson Fischer battled him on the mound for DU. He tossed six innings and allowed four earned runs with seven strikeouts. Foley got his first win of the season in three relief innings and allowed just one hit and no runs with five strikeouts.
The two teams will play again tomorrow in a doubleheader beginning at 1 PM. The team will recognize their 2024 seniors in between games.Â
