QUINCY, Ill. - The Davenport baseball team had one of their best wins in years as they took game one by a score of 6-5 over No. 3 Central Missouri on Saturday afternoon. The Panthers found themselves trailing 5-2 through six innings and then scored three runs in the eighth and walked it off in the ninth against the Mules. The Mules then reversed the script in game two as DU led 5-2 through six innings, only to see UCM score twice in the seventh and three more times in the eighth for the 7-5 win. Davenport is now 12-5 overall and Central Missouri stands at 16-5.
The Mules used the long ball in game one to build their early lead. Dayvin Johnson hit a solo home run in the third inning and Jacob Steele went back-to-back for the 2-0 lead. It was the first dingers given up this season by DU starter
Keegan Batka. Johnson launched his second jack of the game in the fifth for a 3-0 lead. Grant Hollister followed with a RBI single in the fifth to give the Mules a 4-0 lead.
Logan Todd drove in
Coltrane Rubner in the fifth to get DU on the board. UCM scored once in the sixth and that ended the day for Batka.
Justin Johnson led off the sixth with a double and later scored on a RBI groundout by
Xander Reisbig.
Connor Apligian did a great job out of the bullpen and allowed the team to give back into the game. He would get his first win of the season in three innings and allowed no runs. Rubner had a two-out RBI single to make it 5-3 in the eighth.
Chase Kemp followed with a RBI single to get within a run and Todd had an infield RBI single to tie the game at 5-5.
The Mules left two runners on base in the top of the ninth to set up the heroics.
Michael Tchavdarov was hit by a pitch with one out and advanced to second on a groundout.
Dylan Pawenski then drew a walk and
Garrett Swan entered as a pinch hitter. He delivered the walk-off single to left center as Tchavdarov scored the winning run. Todd finished 3-for-4 at the dish and Rubner went 2-for-4 with two runs scored.Â
Johnson had a wonderful game two going 3-for-5 with three RBI and a run scored. He had a RBI single in the third inning and then homered to left for a two-run shot in the fifth. The Mules got a big two-run single by Steele in the seventh to cut the deficit to 5-4. Chase Wilcox had the game-winning home run in the eighth, which was a two-run shot to right.
Brandon Skorupski gave up that home run and two more runs in relief to take the loss (1-1).
James Geshel got the start and fared well in six innings. He allowed six hits and two runs with no walks and five strikeouts.
