GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The baseball team picked up a series win at Indianapolis last weekend by taking three of the four games against the Greyhounds. They had a golden opportunity to sweep the series after taking an 8-0 lead on Friday, but fell 13-12 on the final at-bat. The next three games were clearly in favor of Davenport. They swept a doubleheader on Saturday, which ended on Sunday. DU won 5-0 and then game two was suspended due to darkness in the seventh inning. DU and UIndy resumed on Sunday with a 13-7 victory for the Panthers. The final game was an 8-1 win which improved Davenport to 11-4 overall and a No. 26 ranking in this week's ABCA Division II Poll.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
The Panthers were able to hit the ball with consistency against the Greyhounds and outscored them 38-21 in the four-game series. DU batted .331 with 47 hits in 142 at-bats. Meanwhile, UIndy scuffled to a .252 batting average with 33 hits in 131 at-bats. The pitching numbers were inflated from the red-hot start as DU posted a 5.67 ERA in 33.1 innings. UIndy, however did not have the same success on the mound with a 8.21 ERA in 34 innings. Keegan Batka was named GLIAC Pitcher of the Week for the second straight time after he threw a shutout over seven innings in the 5-0 win. Batka allowed six hits with no walks and seven strikeouts. He has had a dream start to the season going 4-0 in four starts with a 1.00 ERA in 27 innings with just three walks and 26 strikeouts. Dylan Pawenski and Logan Todd each went 6-for-14 at the plate (.429) to lead the offense. Pawenski scored four runs and also had a double and home run to account for two RBI. Todd scored four runs and had a double with a .556 on-base percentage. Justin Johnson led the team with eight RBI and homered twice in the series. Brandon Skorupski also had two solid outings out of the bullpen. He picked up a three-inning save in the 13-7 win and went a total of 4.1 innings allowing two hits with no walks and three punchouts. Colton Blankstrom got his first DU win in relief and tossed 3.1 innings in the 13-7 win. Through 15 games this season, the pitching staff has a 3.06 ERA in 123.1 innings with 51 walks and 114 strikeouts.

SERIES HISTORY
Davenport and Central Missouri have been regular opponents, playing every year since 2021. The Mules have been one of the best teams in Division II over that stretch with all 14 games being played at their own field in Warrensburg, Mo. UCM owns a 10-4 lead in the all-time series and Davenport is hoping to snap a six-game losing streak on a neutral field in Quincy, Ill. on Saturday in a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 PM ET.
Quincy and Davenport have also met on a regular occurrence since 2021. The Hawks and Panthers did not play during the 2023 season, but have met 15 times with Quincy leading the all-time series 9-6. The Hawks took three of four games in Quincy last season on Mar. 1-3. QU won the final two games of the series by scores of 5-4 and 17-7. DU has averaged 8.9 runs per game in the series.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Central Missouri is currently No. 3 in the ABCA Division II Poll this week with an overall record of 14-3. They will play Quincy on Friday before the doubleheader on Saturday against DU. UCM has won three straight games, coming last weekend against Arkansas Fort Smith. They scored a total of 38 runs in those three wins and are averaging 9.2 runs per game, which ranks No. 16 in Division II. Vance Tobol already has seven home runs this season, which ranks No. 18 in Division II. He is batting .343 (24-70) with 20 runs scored and a team-high 23 RBI. Chase Heath is batting .420 (29-69) with a team-high 22 runs scored, seven doubles, one triple, three home runs, and 21 RBI. UCM is hitting .324 as a team this season, which is No. 28 in Division II.

Quincy stumbled out of the gates with a 2-6 record, but have since gone 8-2 in their last 10 games for an overall record of 10-8. They did have a win on Feb. 15 at No. 1 Tampa, 9-2, and also kick started their recent success back on Feb. 28-Mar. 2 with a four-game sweep against Colorado School of Mines. QU opened GLVC play last weekend by taking three of four against Upper Iowa at home. Ben Dahlof is leading the Hawks with a .369 batting average (24-65) and has started in all 17 games. He has scored 14 runs and collected five doubles, one home run, and six RBI. Joe Huffman is the team's leading run-producer with 22 RBI and is batting .267 (16-60) with a team-best four home runs. The pitching staff has a 5.79 ERA in 150.2 innings with 100 walks and 145 strikeouts. Kyle Manship is 2-0 with a 2.20 ERA in six appearances with one start this season. Ben Draeger is 3-1 with a 4.76 ERA in five starts covering 22.2 innings with 17 strikeouts.

LIVE COVERAGE
Saturday, Mar. 15 vs. #3 Central Missouri (DH) / Quincy, IL – 1:00 PM ET – Live Video – Live Stats
Sunday, Mar. 16 at Quincy (DH) – 1:00 PM ET – Live Video – Live Stats