GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Davenport baseball team has two more GLIAC four-game series remaining in the regular season as they have their sights set on their third regular-season GLIAC championship in the last five years. Davenport is off to their best start in league history at 15-1 overall, and they have won 11 straight conference games. DU took a brief break from GLIAC action on Tuesday (Apr. 22) as they welcomed Hillsdale to town. The Panthers were able to break away with seven runs in the bottom of the sixth inning for a 10-3 victory over the Chargers. The Panthers have now won nine straight games against NCAA Division II opponents as they make the trip across the state of Michigan to Detroit for a four-game series against Wayne State, which begins on Friday at 3:00 PM from Harwell Baseball Field. Davenport has climbed to No. 15 in this week's ABCA Division II poll, and they are also No. 21 in the NCBWA Division II poll. The Panthers are also listed as third in the Midwest Region poll by the collegiate baseball writers.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Davenport was able to put up 10 runs in the victory over Hillsdale on Tuesday. It marked the 13th time this season that DU has scored 10-plus runs in a game. DU had a total of 13 hits against the Chargers, and nine different Panthers managed at least one hit. Michael Tchavdarov, Chase Kemp, and Logan Todd each had two hits to pace the offense. Tchavdarov led the team with three RBI as he had a RBI double in the fifth inning and a two-RBI single in the sixth inning. It was his first multi-RBI game since Mar. 21 in game two at Purdue Northwest. If you combine his two hits in the final game of the SVSU series, it was his first consecutive multi-hit games since Mar. 21 in game two and Mar. 22 in game one at Purdue Northwest. Kemp had a pair of singles, driving in one run in the second inning and another RBI on a single in the eighth inning. Todd had an RBI single in the sixth inning to start the rally and also scored twice. The senior from Grand Ledge, Mich., is having his best statistical season at the plate with a .322 batting average (38-118) and .382 on-base percentage. He has seven doubles (five in the previous three seasons) and 22 RBI (21 in the previous three seasons). Mason Hill got the pitching win to improve to 2-0 this season. He was the third Panther on the mound and lasted two innings. He gave up just one hit with two walks and two strikeouts.

The Panthers enter this series at Wayne State ranked nationally in the top 25 in Division II in several team categories. They are 22nd in earned-run average at 4.20, 14th in hits allowed per nine innings (8.32), 23rd in shutouts (4), ninth in WHIP (1.3), and 22nd in walks allowed per nine innings (3.39). Justin Johnson currently ranks third in the GLIAC with 13 doubles. He is hitting .326 overall this season (47-144) and .375 in GLIAC games (21-56). Keegan Batka sports the fourth-best ERA in the conference (2.48), fourth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.8), first in strikeouts (72), and second in WHIP (1.03). Xander Reisbig is currently second in the league in slugging percentage (.638) and leads the Panthers with a .340 overall batting average (32-94). He has been out-of-this-world during GLIAC play, hitting .491 (27-55) with 19 runs scored, five home runs, and a team-high 26 RBI in just 15 games.

SERIES HISTORY
Davenport has an 18-13 edge in the all-time series against Wayne State. All of these meetings have occurred once DU became a member of Division II and the GLIAC. The Panthers have a 5-5 record on the road in the series, which is mainly because they played six times in Detroit during the 2023 season and dropped five of those six games. Davenport had a great start to the all-time series as they won 12 of the first 14 games against the Warriors. DU had an 11-2 win during the 2024 GLIAC Tournament in Lansing in the last meeting. Tchavdarov went 4-for-5 with a double, four runs scored, and three RBI in the leadoff spot. Josh Robinson and Anthony Aloisio each drove in three runs as well. Carson Fischer went all nine innings and gave up one earned run on seven hits with two walks and nine strikeouts. Fischer is currently in his graduate year at the University of Miami (Fla.) and has made 20 appearances for the Hurricanes with a 2-1 record and 5.63 ERA in 24 innings.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Wayne State comes into the series with an overall record of 20-21, and they are currently in third place in the GLIAC with an 8-7 record. The Warriors are rebuilding after putting together a 24-6 record in the conference in 2023 on the way to a regular-season and tournament title. WSU also finished second in last year's GLIAC standings with an 18-12 record to tie with GVSU. They have only played five home games this season, but are 4-1 in those contests. Davenport will be the fourth nationally-ranked team (NBCWA poll) to face the Warriors this season, and they are 2-8 against the previous three. After this series, Wayne State will have a make-up game on Tuesday, Apr. 29, at Purdue Northwest and then will close out the regular season at home with four games against Parkside.

Bennett Hitzelberger leads the team with a .353 batting average (54-153) and has started in all 41 games. He has 27 runs scored, 13 doubles, two triples, two home runs, and a team-high 31 RBI. Hitzelberger is also the toughest hitter to strike out in the GLIAC, once every 13.9 at-bats. Owen Tuccinardi ranks second on the team with 30 RBI and is hitting .287 with five doubles, three triples, and two home runs. Mason McGuire leads the team with 30 runs scored and is batting .339 (42-124) with seven doubles, two home runs, and 20 RBI. Gabe Nazelli leads the team with five wins on the mound and has a 3.68 ERA in 44 innings. He has thrown two complete games and has struck out 29. Ethan Getting leads the team with 31 strikeouts in 22.2 innings. He has a 3.57 ERA in 15 appearances with two saves, and opponents are hitting just .125 against him.

LIVE COVERAGE
Friday, Apr. 25 at Wayne State – 3:00 PM – Live Video (FloCollege) – Live Stats
Saturday, Apr. 26 at Wayne State (DH) – 1:00 PM – Live Video (FloCollege) – Live Stats
Sunday, Apr. 27 at Wayne State – 1:00 PM – Live Video (FloCollege) – Live Stats

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