GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Davenport baseball team will enter the GLIAC Tournament as the fourth seed and is hoping for a deep run as a second chance to reset after dropping the final four games of the regular season at Grand Valley State. First up for the Panthers will be a 7:00 PM matchup against third-seeded Wayne State in Lansing, Mich. at the home of the Lansing Lugnuts. The Warriors slipped to the three seed on the final day of the regular season with a loss to Purdue Northwest. They had a tie for second place with GVSU, but the Lakers won the season series as the tiebreaker for the two seed. This contest features the last three tournament champions as Davenport won in 2021 and 2022, while Wayne State won the tournament title last season.

LAST WEEKEND'S ACTION
After winning the first two games of the season series at home against GVSU, the fortunes turned as the Lakers took all four games played in Allendale last week. GVSU put on an offensive display batting .392 as a team (56-of-143) and scored 43 runs in the four games. Davenport batted .268 (37-of-138) with 21 runs scored. Connor Foley had a good weekend on the mound going 5.1 innings with a 1.69 ERA in two appearances. Jerad Berkenpas also had a quality start with seven innings and just two runs scored with no walks and three strikeouts in a no-decision. Xander Reisbig led the offense with a .412 batting average (7-of-17) with three runs scored and three RBI. Carson Price also went 4-of-10 in the series with all four hits coming in Sunday's game.

WAYNE STATE SEASON STATS
The Warriors were on point in winning four of six during the season series this year. The pitching staff was rock solid limiting DU to a .229 batting average while posting a 3.38 ERA in 48 innings. WSU hurlers walked 28 and struck out 39. Davenport was led offensively by Connor Hnilo with a .350 batting average (7-of-20) with five runs scored and a .480 on-base percentage. Anthony Aloisio hit .313 with five hits in 16 at-bats. He scored four runs and led the team with five RBI against the Warriors. Michael Tchavdarov led the team with 13 total bases as he had a double, two triples, and a home run. Tyler McKinstry got two starts against Wayne State and struck out 11 in seven innings. Tyler Kapa pitched 2.1 innings and did not allow an earned run with four strikeouts. Cade Kontny tossed two innings of scoreless ball in three appearances.

SERIES HISTORY
Davenport holds a 17-13 edge in the all-time series against Wayne State. The last time they played in the GLIAC Tournament was May 14, 2022 in Gary, Ind. with DU winning 8-5. Just a few current players were in the box score in that contest. Tyler Mosher got the start at second base and batted ninth going 0-for-2 with a walk and sacrifice bunt. Jared Schwartz got the start for the Panthers and went 2.2 innings. His command led to an early exit with five walks and four wild pitches. Carson Fischer tossed 2.1 relief innings and allowed no earned runs with no walks and four strikeouts. Jacoby Dale hit fifth in the lineup as the designated hitter going 0-for-5 with three strikeouts for WSU. Logan Tobel played left field and batted seventh going 0-for-2 with two walks and two strikeouts. CJ Maury pinch hit for Tobel and struck out in his only at-bat. Griffin Kilander made a relief appearance going 1.1 innings while allowing three hits and two runs. David Thurman recorded two outs and gave up two walks and one run. Kaden Stively also recorded two outs via strikeouts on seven pitches. The Panthers are 2-0 versus the Warriors in the GLIAC Tournament.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Wayne State finished 18-12 in the GLIAC this season and are 29-19 overall. They took three of four games last weekend against Purdue Northwest in Detroit. The highlight of the weekend was Karter Fitzpatrick in game one on Saturday as he tossed a perfect game retiring all 21 batters he faced and was named GLIAC Pitcher of the Week. Fitzpatrick in seven innings struck out seven batters and needed just 64 pitches to record the perfect game. He is now 8-2 this season and leads the conference in wins, innings pitched (79.0), and strikeouts (95). Drew Hill and Logan Van Sicklen each had a solo home run in the sixth inning for all the offense needed to support Fitzpatrick's gem. Hill is having a fine freshman season for the Warriors and ranks fifth in the GLIAC in doubles (15), while also batting .329 (48-of-146). Junior Mason McGuire leads the team this season with 37 RBI, which is also eighth in the league. He also ranks seventh in runs (43), third in doubles (17), and eighth in walks (27).

LIVE COVERAGE
Thursday, May 9 - Wayne State - 7:00 PM - Live Video (FloSports) - Live Stats - Tickets