GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Davenport baseball currently sits at 8-3 overall and has garnered some national attention based on their hot start. The Panthers are ranked No. 21 in the NCBWA Poll and are receiving votes in the ABCA Poll this week. This week, the team will have a four-game series at UIndy, with a chance to gain more regional wins.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
The Panthers most recently completed a five-game Florida swing in which they went 3-2 overall. The only losses came against No. 1 Tampa by scores of 1-0 and 5-0. The Panthers were able to defeat Eckerd, Minnesota Crookston, and Ashland. Justin Johnson had a great stretch last week batting .438 in those five games. He went 7-of-16 at the plate with two runs scored, three doubles, and two RBI. Michael Tchavdarov led the team with six RBI and collected a double and home run. Dylan Pawenski also hit a home run for his third of the season and also had a double and three RBI. The pitching on both sides was excellent as DU batted .233 as a team, but limited their opponents to a .196 batting average. Keegan Batka was named GLIAC Pitcher of the Week and got a pair of wins this past week against UMSL on Monday and No. 21 Ashland on Sunday to improve to 3-0 overall this season. He has thrown 20 innings with 19 strikeouts, 12 hits, and a earned-run average of 1.35. He tossed six innings in game one versus UMSL and allowed three runs with one walk and seven strikeouts. He followed that with his second outing of seven innings of shutout ball on Sunday against the Eagles. He went seven innings and allowed three hits with no walks and six strikeouts. He has allowed just two extra-base hits (two doubles) all season. 

SERIES HISTORY
Davenport and Indianapolis have met on the diamond six times previously with the Greyhounds leading the series 4-2. The teams played a three-game series in Caledonia back in 2022 with DU winning two of three games. They also played a three-game set in 2023 in which the Greyhounds took all three games in Indianapolis. Tchavdarov and Coltrane Rubner on the current team are the only ones to see action in the last matchup on Mar. 11, 2023 in a 2-1 loss in 10 innings. Tchavdarov went 0-for-1 with a run scored as a substitute in left field and Rubner had a pinch hitting role in the seventh inning and grounded out.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Indianapolis was ranked No. 7 in the ABCA Division II Poll back on Feb. 25 after a 5-1 start. They have since lost six straight games to drop out of the top 25. The Greyhounds dropped the last two games of a four-game series against Hillsdale and then were swept in four games against Grand Valley State last week. Easton Good leads the team with a .400 batting average (12-30) in 11 starts with a 1.407 OPS. He leads the team with 15 runs, three triples, two home runs, and 14 RBI. Austin Bode is second on the team with 11 RBI and is batting .342 (13-38) with a team-high eight doubles in 10 games played. The pitching staff was an earned-run average of 8.90 through 89 innings. Diego Cardenas has made three starts and is 1-0 with a 4.24 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 17 innings. Drake Downing was appeared in five games out of the bullpen with three saves and a 2.84 ERA in 6.1 innings.

LIVE COVERAGE
Friday, Mar. 7 at Indianapolis – 2:00 PM – Live Video – Live Stats
Saturday, Mar. 8 at Indianapolis (DH) – 12:00 PM – Live Video – Live Stats
Sunday, Mar. 9 at Indianapolis – 12:00 PM – Live Video – Live Stats