TAMPA, Fla. - The Davenport baseball team is off to one of their best starts in years as they are 7-1 overall after a 15-5 win over Minnesota Crookston on Friday afternoon. The Panthers won the first-ever meeting against UMC and scored in double digits for the third time this season. After trailing 1-0 through two innings, DU would score the next 13 runs before Crookston added four runs in the eighth inning. DU tacked on two more in the ninth for the 15-5 margin.
Austin VanderMarkt improved to 2-0 this season by tossing five innings and allowing no earned runs. He allowed four hits and walked two with four strikeouts.
Connor Apligian followed with two scoreless relief innings of no-hit ball with a walk and two strikeouts.
Brayden Flanders finished the game going 1.1 innings and allowed two hits and no runs.
Davenport pounded five extra-base hits out of their 17 hits on the day.
Michael Tchavdarov had a double and home run in four at-bats with two runs scored and a team-high four RBI.
Justin Johnson went 2-for-3 with a double, one run, and one RBI.
Cody Hultink launched a home run in the ninth and finished 3-for-6 with a team-high four runs and three RBI.
Travis Liford had the other extra-base hit which was a pinch-hit triple in the eighth.
Zach Hopman collected two hits, two runs, two stolen bases, and one RBI. The Panthers will put their hot start to the test tomorrow (Mar. 1) as they play a doubleheader at No. 1 Tampa (10-2) beginning at 3:00 PM.
